Rewind
by I'm Doxophobic
Summary: [New Game Plus] How do you re-live your last year with the people you have loved and have loved you, when you know exactly when your days of happiness run out? It's 2009 all over again, but only Arisato Minako is left with the painful memories of 'what could be' and a heart yet to heal after the 'what had been'. Akihiko/FeMC/Shinjiro [HIATUS]
1. Loading Rewind

_Dafuq_ is _this_?_ *breathes and laughs nervously*_

Anyway, this..._thing_ mainly revolves around the **New Game+ **concept. Since certain stuff are carried over and all,_ maybe_ the Protagonist still** remembers _everything_ **(like an infinite time loop).

I _will_ be using game dialogues and whatnot. Oh, and I'll be using _**'Minako Arisato'**_ as the Female Protagonist's name, just because I got used to it already.

**Summary: **New Game+ When fate couldn't be any more cruel, Minako's thrown back in 2009, forced to re-live it all with only memories to remind her of what had been, and her heart's broken pieces for what could be.

**Pairing/s: **Akihiko/Female Main Character/Shinjiro, (Chidori/)Junpei/Yukari

**Warning/s: **Out-of-characterness, my lame playlist, and my sappiness. Typos and grammatical errors, and in-game dialogue in addition to _really _slow development.

**Disclaimer:** Atlus owns everything. I don't own Atlus.

* * *

_Just like the ending of a movie_

_Our ending fulfilled the prediction of tears_

_Broken promises all over the ground_

_The yesterday that cannot be pieced together again_

* * *

She couldn't see anything. There was nothing beyond her sight. Even the knowledge of her existence made her wonder if there was anything left of 'her'. To be blind or to simply not be able to open your eyes, neither could seem worse than the nothing she held now. Here, time did not exist.

She couldn't see herself, but she could still feel the shackles gripping her ankles. The perpetual reminder of her decision was the only thing that let her know that she was there.

The shackles were as warm as her friends' smiles, as light as their laughs. Laughing, crying, they were things that were easily taken for granted. Things once upon a time _she_ took for granted. How ironic it was that these same things were the ones to pull her down now, to pull her away from everything she cared about.

"Hello, my dear." A familiar young man spoke as he appeared beside her. As he took her hand in his, she mused how he could make oblivion out to be mere silken sheets draped on his skin while she dared not to drown in the dark.

"Ryoji-kun," His vivid azure eyes reminded her of the pleasing ocean she liked so much, but would never be able to see again. "What do you see?"

Ryoji glanced down at their clasped palms and muttered, "I see a canvas covered in black."

"Oh," She gave him a small smile in return, Ryoji never did have much of an imagination. "But I see a sky without stars." She knew very well what words would come from him next.

"You don't deserve this." What charmed girls towards him was perhaps not how he could say what he wanted to say alone. The intricate gift of transforming a dull string of of words into a sonnet made only for a weeping dame, she remembered wishing, one night in December, that he had never been born with it.

But, no matter how beautiful and golden the sonnets he offered her were, they all meant the same. _'It could have all been different'_. That, she knew. They _all_ knew, but despite all of the _possibilities_, it was a tragedy that there had only been _one_ solution.

"It's okay."

It hurt Ryoji to see her smile and be reminded of the only thing that he wanted but could not save.

The restraints rustled as she brought a free hand up to his cheek. "I am not alone, you're here with me."

Ryoji brought up a hand of his own to grasp hers, lowered it and looked at her. To not be able to do anything for the person you care for the most, it was one of the worst feelings, he discovered. It was more crippling than grief, seeing the girl he ever felt so strongly for be trapped like this. To be forced like this, to spend eternity with him as a ransom for the mortal** fools**—it was _unfair, absurd._

He could not fathom how she could still smile at him. He who took her away from those others she truly loved, he who marked the demise of the life she loved when his existence began.

"... You're too kind." The harbinger embraced her tightly, gently.

"You're just too kind..." He whispered to her, a small smile of great guilt formed on his lips.

This girl, loved by all, brought out the best there was in everyone that knew her. She had come face to face with Death himself, and pulled off something no other person could do—accept him, befriend him, love him for all that he simply was.

Yet here he was, with nothing to ever hope to give her in return of her kindness.

She missed them. Of course she missed them, but all the memories she had made with them, even for only a year, could help her last an eternity. She had more than enough to remind her of them. They've done lots of great things together. They cried and laughed together, and when one was hurt, the rest went to cheer that one on, in their own unique ways.

He had always been there, watching over her—with her.

"Dear," Ryoji smiled, finding that the girl had fallen asleep in his arms. "...I want you to be happy."

He closed his eyes as well, and allowed himself to drift along with her into the vastness of oblivion.

* * *

**( PAUSE )**

* * *

**_Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered._**

* * *

Minako's eyes jolted open and stumbled forward when the train slowed. Her head narrowly missed the solid smack she would've gotten from the cold, metal railings, stopping only inches from collision. She shook her head lightly and scratched the back of her head, careful not to mess up the barrettes in her hair.

___'Huh_…_?' _She took a deep breath and rubbed her temple gently._ 'Where am I?'_ She lazily rubbed her eyes and looked around.

* * *

**_We apologize for any customers who were in a hurry. _****_The next stop is Iwatodai._**

* * *

The other passengers looked at her strangely. Those that met her gaze gave her half of a glare and she slumped further back as possible. She hoped that they would at least make an effort to hide the crossed expression they wore upon seeing her red irises.

_'Breathe, Minako, breathe..' _It was not the time to feel bad about being born with red eyes.

* * *

**_Iwatodai._**

* * *

The train announcement rang.

* * *

**_This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure._**

* * *

Minako was the only one to step out of the train when the doors opened to give way.

"Eh? "

She had only taken a few steps out when the electricity seemed to die out, and strangely, so did her mp3. "Are the batteries dead?" The brunette asked no one in particular as she inspected her music player.

It was dark, not enough that it blinded her, but enough to let her know she shouldn't keep walking around the streets alone. Minako had to get to the dormitory soon, so she took out her admission pamphlet from her pocket and examined it. She had to squint—but only a little!—before she was able to fully decipher whatever was written on it.

"…?"

Minako stopped, curiosity getting the best of her. She took a good look at what exactly she was stepping on. The puddles made heavy, splashing sound beneath her feet as she decided to walk faster. She stared and saw the ripples. They were slow and big, and this made Minako's brows furrow.

Was she imagining things? She chased her thoughts away. She should've expected that the place would change. She recognized the station, though it seemed to have undergone heavy renovation. She hung her earphones around her neck, and took a quick scan around. Finally, she sighed, realizing that it just wasn't the Iwatodai that molded her childhood anymore.

The reflection of the moon was unusually eerie, Minako didn't remember the city night looking like that. Strange moon aside, she continued on her way. Something, somehow, screamed at the back of her mind to just _go, _and seconds later she was running.

When she arrived, it didn't even occur to her that she didn't need the pamphlet for directions.

* * *

**4/6 – M**

**?**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

Minako walked up the few steps before she could reach the dormitory's old, wooden doors. Not wanting to think over things for a little longer, she gripped her baggage tighter and proceeded to welcome herself into the dorm.

_'It's better to be late a few hours than a few days.'_ She thought to herself, before berating herself for trying to justify her punctuality.

She realized that, if it was dark outside, it was even darker inside. She tried to make out the things around her, cautious not to just lay her hands on anything, and it_ wasn't_ because she watched that new horror movie before she left for Port Island. The task proved to be harder than she originally thought it would be.

"Welcome." Minako could not keep herself from jumping when a voice suddenly greeted her.

"You're late," The owner of the voice—a boy, said to her. "I've been waiting a long time." The first thought that came to her after her heart settled, was how vividly _blue_ his eyes were, and how the boy strangely did not mind that his beautiful eyes were staring back at her own cursed pair.

He held out what seemed to be a formal agreement to her, with a smile she couldn't rip her gaze away from. "If you want to proceed, then please sign here."

Minako eyed it with precaution.

It was—a contract?

"There's no need to be scared." Said the pale boy, as if he knew what went through her mind. Minako took the contract, and stared as if it was going to do a trick if she paid attention long enough.

The pale boy chuckled.

"It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions." He explained, as if randomly appearing and handing out contracts in the dark was something perfectly normal. "You know, the usual."

Perhaps it was the way he looked familiar to her that made her shrug and press a pen down on the sheet of paper. _I chooseth this fate of mine own free will_... Minako read quietly to herself as she signed her name just below it.

**X Arisato, Minako**

* * *

"This is it." Yukari finalized as they stopped in front of Minako's designated room. "Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall."

Minako nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing! So, anything you wanna know?"

_'Are kids allowed in here?'_ was the first question that crossed her mind, but Minako decided against it. "None! No questions at all."

"Oh, okay." The transferee would've bid the other goodnight, but Yukari had opened her mouth first. "Um… Can I ask something?"

Minako nodded and noticed the way Yukari tensed. "On your way here from the station, was everything okay?" Yukari probably thought that that might have not turned out right.

"Mm?" The warmer brunette dipped her head to the side. How was she going to answer that? Was Yukari asking if she bumped into someone or noticed something in particular? "Hmm, I guess everything was okay...?"

"I see…" Minako noted the way those brown eyes dipped. Yukari seemingly expected a different response.

"…Never mind, then. Well I'd better get going."

Minako nodded once more and pulled up her bag, bidding Yukari goodnight. She opened the door that now lead to her room as her fellow junior started walking towards the staircase by the other end of the hall.

"Um…" Yukari turned around to face Minako, who looked at her with curious eyes.

"Yeah?" Minako's red headphones almost slipped off when she retrieved what seemed to be a rabbit doll that ended up out of her bag. She hadn't noticed it being half-open at all.

Yukari smiled and chuckled a little to herself at the discovery of her new dorm mate's mellow side. "I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Goodnight!" She said loud enough for the berry-eyed girl at the end of the hall to hear, but quiet enough not to bother anyone else.

"Yep!"

* * *

**4/7 **– **Tu**

**Early Morning**

**Minako's Room, Iwatodai Dormitory**

Minako stared at her face in the mirror, smiled and made faces every now and then. Today was going to be her first day as an official student of Gekkoukan High School, and was going to make sure she was ready for it. A few minutes later, a couple of knocks came rasping upon her door and Yukari's voice emerged from the other side.

"I'm up!" Minako walked towards the door to open it.

"Good morning." Yukari greeted her with that modest smile Minako had seen last night.

"Did you sleep okay?" Minako nodded. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school."

"Eh?" Minako blinked. "_Oh_, wait just a sec!"

Yukari raised a brow as Minako fixed the hairpins at the side of her head. She watched her new dorm mate don her headphones and grab a generically designed body bag by her study table. Yukari found it amusing how prepared Minako was for her first day. The mocha brunette recognized the stuffed doll happily placed beside the pillow, on top of Minako's bed.

She thought it was silly, and then endearing when Minako patted its inanimate head. _'Must be from someone special.'_ The last time she got a stuffed animal of her own was when her father's first anniversary came around.

"Are you ready to go?" Yukari asked after Minako finished all her morning rituals.

"Totally!" Minako beamed enthusiastically at her.

"Okay," Instantly, Yukari knew this girl was going to be her ray of happy sunshine. "Let's go!"

They took the New City passenger train "Anehazuru" to get to Gekkoukan High, and it was such an understatement to say that Minako enjoyed the ride. The train provided such a beautiful view of the sea, it was Yukari's favorite part and was fast becoming her favorite, too. It was the greatest part of the trip for Minako, who was having an enjoyable conversation with her could-be classmate—she was already a step closer to making a new friend!

"Mom, what's that?" Minako tensed and turned her attention to a little boy with ash-colored hair beside her, who pointed a finger—not at her eyes, but at the vast, blue wonder outside of the train.

"That's the sea," His mom, with hair of darker hue, said to him. "Now, now, please behave for mama." She sent the ruby-eyed girl an apologetic, yet gentle and motherly smile.

Minako smiled back at her, her way of letting the mother know that she didn't mind at all. She liked kids. In fact, she wished to have a child of her own, someday.

"Hey, we're almost there." Minako fixed her gaze upon the sea, smiling ghostly to herself.

The color of the sea. It reminded her of someone's eyes. Whose? She strangely could not remember. But, something nagged her, at the back of her mind.

* * *

**Gekkoukan High**

**Classroom**

"It's your first day and you already have a nanny!" Junpei watched Yukari leave and gave the new student a disapproving look. "Well, just to clear something up, I _seriously_ didn't come over here to hit on you or anything."

The guy dropped another one of his casual smiles. "If you ever have a problem, you can tell your ol' pal Junpei about it!"

Minako smiled. She felt like she could actually and honestly trust this guy. "I'll remember that."

"Heh, cool. Well, I'll be seeing you around, then."

Minako hadn't gone too far yet when Junpei caught up with her, convincing her to let him walk her back to her dorm. She initially decided to decline. What if he lived pretty far? She didn't want to become a bother, but she should've also known that Junpei was the stubborn type. He was hell bent on making her let him as if his life depended on it. He then went on to talk about something that happened to also be an interest of the transferee.

"Oh my—_you__'ve_ been playing it too?!" They yelped in unison upon the discovery of their strange and sudden kinship, and suddenly there was no other answer to Junpei's offer but _yes_. Junpei raised his fist up in the air, which earned him a few looks from the other students dawdling around the campus.

"Could you _believe_ that? I just had _1_hp left, just friggin' _one_!"

Minako laughed a heartfelt laugh. "I bet you even forgot to blink during that time!"

"Ha, sure did! It was one of my_ most epic_ gaming moments."

The trip felt shorter than it actually was. Minako had never felt so connected to another person, a person she just met nonetheless!

"Ohhh hey, we're here!" Junpei paused and looked up ahead to see the building that was presumably Minako's dorm.

Minako's smile fell off.

"What? _Already?_" She whined._  
_

"Sucks, I know." He laughed at the girl's frown. Or pout, rather. "But hey, we're classmates anyway."

He grinned. "We'll see each other tomorrow, okay dude?"

"Look forward to it!" She excitedly giggled, not realizing that on the first day of their friendship, Junpei had already dude-zoned her.

* * *

Minako entered the dorm after she and Junpei said their goodbyes. She found Mitsuru in the lounge, seated on the couch with her legs crossed. She was scanning through the pages of a book—a _college_ book, Minako inwardly cringed as she identified it.

She walked past Mitsuru and saw Yukari by the dinner table.

"What are you doing?" The music-loving girl asked the bored-looking Yukari.

"Just killing time, doing nothing. You're probably pretty tired, huh? Maybe you should go to bed early tonight." The pink fanatic of the two suggested.

Minako only nodded for what seemed like the hundredth time for that day and walked off. With a yawn, she made her way up the stairs and to the second floor. She noticed a similar vending machine resting on a side, every floor had one, it seemed.

_'How convenient,'_ she thought.

She randomly decided that getting herself a Cielo Mist before going to bed wouldn't hurt. She dropped in her 120yen in exchange for her can of fizz.

"Mm, nice and cold~~" She pursed her lips just as she took a sip of the refreshing drink. She glanced at her left, where more doors stood by the hall.

Curious, she made her way towards them, and she stopped in front of the first door. There was the absence of a nameplate, and it didn't take her horror movie knowledge to know that the room was _definitely_ empty. Despite knowing, she still touched the cold, metal knob. She tried to open it, twisting the invention but was only left feeling like a fool.

She should've known that it was locked. What did she expect to happen? Minako took a deep breath. Was she hoping that someone was there?

She found herself laughing bitterly. _'I'm... What, am I being delusional now?'_

Strange, it was a dorm, yet she hadn't seen the other occupants yet.

The dorm left her with a strange feeling of familiarity. The rooms, the furniture, even the innocent design of the carpet appeared as though it mocked her. Like they all just knew something she didn't.

"But... this door..." Her scarlet gaze fixed itself intensely upon the door in front of her.

"Come on Minako," She violently shook her head. "Yukari's right, you're just tired." She told herself, repeating it over and over until she was convinced and took another sip of her Cielo Mist.

"You're just imagining things." Minako said to no one in particular as she climbed up to the third floor and entered her room.

"Nobody occupied that room." The beady eyes of the rabbit doll passively greeted as she flopped down the mattress. After having prepared everything for the next day, she drifted off to sleep, with the doll placed tightly in her arms.

* * *

**4/8 – Wed**

**Minako's Room**

**Early Morning**

Minako rubbed her eyes for what seemed like the fourth time, with the same frustration that she had the first time. They already stung when she touched them and she could only hope that were were not swollen.

_4AM, _flashed her clock.

"_Why_ can't I fall asleep?" She let out a heavy, aggravated sigh.

_What _was bothering her? She whined softly, burying her face in her pillow. _Nothing_, she could think of _nothing _at all. In fact, she deemed herself as a happy girl. She had nothing to worry about. Yet.

So far, her stay in Port Island has been pretty good—she even made friends! But despite of the many reasons she could find to rightly label herself as happy, there was just _one _that managed to slip off her list. It was at the tip of her tongue, and it was because of it that she just couldn't get the rest that she deserved. She kept turning and tossing, but even if she closed her eyes, sleep just didn't come to her.

She was restless, and she simply didn't know why.

"Good morning." She whispered to the rabbit doll that was in her arms.

With a smile, she placed the doll cautiously beside her pillow and got up, walking to her window to take a view of the tranquil scenery outside. The sky was still dark, but pretty. There it was, the enigmatic crescent dangled playfully as a small curvy streak across the blue curtain.

She loved seeing the moon. It wasn't as bright as the warm sun, but it was simple and stunning. It meant comfort for an orphan who needed someone to listen during those nights that she cried alone.

"_Good morning to you, too, Moon." _She greeted, a smile gracing her lips as the stars twinkled faintly, aiding the orb in lighting up the wide, morning sky.

It was funny, because when she was a little girl, she actually believed that the stars and the moon were best friends.

* * *

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

**Evening**

"Oh, she's back."

"So, this is our new guest!"

Once Minako had gone back to the dorm, she was greeted by the sight of Yukari and an older looking man. _Shuji Ikutsuki_, he told her as he waved a friendly smile.

Minako reflexively smiled back—a miniscule curve of her lips, but a smile, nonetheless. Something at the back of her mind made her uneasy about him. Knowing that judging a person right away was bad, she dismissed the nagging feeling inside her and locked it away.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask?" Ikutsuki had cut off her train of thought.

"Nope, no questions." Minako responded, slight indifference spelled out all over her expression. "Please excuse me Ikutsuki-san, I need to go and study now."

Minako caught the flash of disbelief in Yukari's eyes towards her actions. How can she tell her that she couldn't trust him? She would, maybe. Just not yet. Minako decided that it was best if she conversed with this 'Ikutsuki' some other time. She didn't mean to act rudely. She'd never do anything to intentionally offend anyone, but there just seemed to be something about the man that threw her off.

She had seen him before, she had, _definitely_.

"_Oh, no, it's okay Yukari. Like they say, the early bird catches the _bookworm _after all."_

* * *

**4/9 – Th**

**Early Morning**

When Minako awoke the following morning, she was a little dazed. She found herself just staring up at the ceiling. Moments passed by so slowly, like it was the trend of her life lately. She didn't bother to check on how many minutes have passed by anymore before she shut her eyes again. She groaned, putting a hand over her strangely red eyes.

_Ma...er..._

She felt...weird.

_...ast...r...ko...isa...o._

"Good morning." Lying on her side, she saw Rabbit-chan smiling to her like always.

Other people would definitely call her weird once they knew that she talked to her doll. Somehow, she didn't mind. Rabbit-chan was special, as special as the leather watch always wrapped around her wrist. Then she remembered that she had a lot of important things tucked away when she transferred.

Minako decided that it was best not to think of too much too early in the morning, she had to relax. She got up to get ready for school, stepped out of the premises of her room to take a quick shower and returned only for her bag. She threw one last glance at her bed, where the doll resided.

She was damn proud to say that it wore the little dress Minako herself had sewn for the rabbit, and thus, she shortly noticed that the big ribbon tucked under its chin was painstakingly off. Her gaze stayed locked on the doll for a moment, before she reluctantly ripped it off and took a step out of her door, making a soft 'click!' as it closed.

_"Argh, Rabbit-chan!"_

Minako stomped back inside and scooted over to the said doll, fixing the fabric. She picked up Rabbit and held it up in the air, her eyes never left its beady ones. Once she had decided that her beloved stuffed animal was now okay, she placed it back on her bed and left the dorm.

"See you later Rabbit-chan!"

* * *

**Early Morning**

**Gekkoukan High School**

Arriving in front of the school gate, the sight of a tired-looking Junpei greeted her. "Yo..."

Minako tilted her head to a side, raising a brow. "Didn't get any sleep last night?"

Junpei yawned. "I did, but man! I'm still so sleepy today. In times like these, it's best to sleep during class!"

"Don't sleep in class." She said to him as she turned off her mp3. She took off her headphones and hung them around her neck as they started to walk together towards the building.

Junpei gave her a look. "Whaaat? Why do you have to be all serious? That feeling of being completely recharged is the best!" He reasoned.

"Hey, what would happen to you if I'm not around to pass you the answers then, huh?" Minako said to him in a teasing manner. "It's not like we're gonna be seatmates forever."

"_Buuuut_ we'll be _buddies forever_, I can _feel _it!" The guy wearing the cap grinned. "You'll help me out, right?"

Minako didn't really mind that it seemed like Junpei had already grown used to addressing her so casually, occasionally calling her 'dude' and the like. Really, she didn't. The guy even made her feel warm and fuzzy and always welcome. She pretended to shrug and to appear like she wasn't paying attention to Junpei and his upcoming 'power of friendship' speech.

"Hey you, no fair! Look me straight in the eye!" They stopped on their tracks as Junpei scooted in front of her and placed both of his bigger hands on each of her shoulders.

"Say it too! The buddy pact!" He looked at Minako's red-berry eyes without fear and equipped with a dead serious expression that appeared too funny that the girl had to clamp her mouth shut.

"What do you want?" He shook her playfully and gently, his almost-frown broke into one of his wide grins. "Come on, we've got each other's back covered, right, pal?"

"Okay, okay," Minako laughed. "Now get off before Yukari sees you."

With the mention of the pink fanatic, Junpei winced and raised his hands up in the air. "Yikes! Yukaricchi's cute and all, but _sheesh_!"

* * *

**2-F Classroom**

**Morning**

"Wake up, children!" The man's voice practically boomed inside the premises of the classroom, jolting almost the whole class awake. "Now, open your textbooks."

Nobody was enjoying.

Minako was very tempted to just sleep through the subject period, just like what Junpei had said that morning. She glanced over to his side to find him literally dozing the day off. She suppressed a smile and a laugh. Really, if this academic routine continued, he would get himself into trouble sooner or later.

'_Really, that guy.' _Junpei was absolutely something, and although guiltily, Minako was still silently laughing to herself.

She looked around to see if someone else had noticed him sleeping, glad and disappointed that she saw none. They were all busy keeping themselves bloody awake. It didn't seem like Junpei was going to wake up any time soon, and lunch was still a long way to go, so Minako decided to just focus on her notes. She scribbled extra helpful information and illustrations, just in case it turned out that the easy-going guy needed them later on.

_'We've got each other's back covered, right, pal?'_

What he had said to her earlier played in her mind, making her smile to herself. It felt so nice. It had been a while since she had heard something similar. It was so _nostalgic_, even.

"Arisato-san?" A feminine voice whispered behind Minako.

"Yes?" She leaned a little to let her know she had heard her, while keeping her eyes on the board in front to appear focused on the lecture.

"Mind if I borrow an eraser?"

She checked to make sure she had one and passed it to her classmate just in time after Ekoda turned to write something on the board. The girl muttered a quiet 'thank you' as Minako continued on taking down the notes. She halted every now and then to re-read everything she had written so far, to see if it was starting to look messy. She also doodled down on the little corners of the pages, to make it look livelier.

"Eh?" It was the only thing that slipped out of her lips when she noticed that she had scribbled tiny drawings of a funny-looking moon with an unusually grouchy face.

"Hmm, something is missing." She thought to herself.

The moon looked rather lonely to her.

"Oh, I know!" As if a light bulb had lit up over her head, her lips made an 'o' shape before she brought her pen down again.

By the end of Classic Lit period, Minako's notes were full of silly drawings of her funny-looking moon, and of stars wearing boxing gloves.

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dorm**

After being toured around Paulownia Mall by Yukari, Minako went straight home. It seemed that the sleep monster had trailed after her from Ekoda's class and waited until she got back.

She was greeted by Mitsuru like before, and had a small conversation with Yukari about how having a dorm helper around would be quite helpful. The talk made her realize that none of them really knew how to cook. Although it was much more convenient to have instant noodles ready before they went to school, it was a very unhealthy routine to fall into. Maybe she could try cooking for the others whenever she had free time?

"You should probably go to sleep," Yukari suggested and smiled just as Minako covered a yawn. "Mr. Ekoda does just that to students."

"I bet we all looked like zombies. The guy seated near me had bloodshot eyes, and it was really difficult to keep myself awake." Minako said, almost in a mumble, and felt her eyelids grow heavy.

When she almost fell, Yukari had jumped and stopped in an awkward pose as Minako shook her head and laughed. "Ah, I guess it's best that I go sleep now."

She bowed to the pink-clad dorm mate, as an apology and as appreciation for her concern.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." The said girl just nodded.

Minako bid goodnight and walked towards the stairs. Yukari watched her until she disappeared to the second floor, just in case she fell asleep before she even reached her room. Minako appreciated the act, Yukari was being like a big sister. Although Minako didn't like it that her carelessness was making other people worry, she was grateful she had nice people as her dorm mates.

"Rabbit-chan, I'm back~" She had immediately flopped down on her bed the moment she had stepped in her room.

She felt so tired that she forgot to change into her night clothes before she indulged in the softness of her pillows.

"We didn't even do anything stressful today.." She spoke to herself quietly, hugging the tiny-dress-wearing rabbit doll close to her.

"Mm, goodnight Rabbit-chan..." Minako slowly closed her eyes, as she finally let the sleep monster cast upon her its spell and take away her consciousness.

* * *

**(PLAY)**

* * *

**?**

**Iwatodai Dorm**

Minutes before the clock struck midnight, she found herself wide awake. The drowsiness completely disappeared, as if she had sipped some strange elixir.

"Maybe I'll just get a glass of water.." Minako got up, and had only taken a few steps forward towards her door when she felt the building shake.

_"W-what's hap—"_

The girl dropped on the floor rather ungracefully when she attempted to take a step and the second trembling of the dorm began. She heard commotion downstairs. Something was obviously wrong, but instead of cowering in fear like normal people would probably do, she forced herself to stand. She gathered up the courage to see what exactly was going on, the same moment that the hand of her watch struck midnight.

* * *

"_I want to be by your side."_

_Minako nodded, returning the other's content smile. _"_I'm sorry you have to be stuck with me today, too, Aigis."_

_"Please do not speak that way!"__ The blonde female spoke. "Minako-san will never become a bother! I will never hesitate to accompany you wherever you may wish to go."_

"_Ai-chan," She never failed to see her own reflection in Aigis' cerulean eyes._

_"I want you to be happy, too." She didn't deserve to be this loved, to be cared for as much as Aigis does. She wasn't special, after all. Just a girl who happened to be there, at that time._

"_I _am _happy, Minako-san._ You _make me happy,_"_ Aigis smiled so brightly, it rivaled the twinkle that Minako saw in Akihiko's. "It makes me happy that I am by your side."_

* * *

Minako's eyes widened. An image flashed in her mind. It was only for a brief moment, but she recognized the smile. She recognized those eyes—as blue as the sky—and Minako knew them too well—_loved _them.

Just then, abrupt banging came upon her door.

"Wake up! Sorry, but I'm going in!" Yukari announced before forcibly opening the wooden entry of her room. "I don't have time to explain. We _have_ to get out of here _now_!"

"Hurry! We'll leave through the back door!" Minako nodded.

* * *

"_Best friends forever, huh… Yeah, I like the sound of that." He thought to himself quietly, looking straight ahead of the horizon as the gentle breeze continued to kiss them._

_They were once again on the rooftop of the school. It seemed that all of them went there to spend comfortable time by themselves, to think about everything that they have experienced so far. It was a place that held special meaning for them._

"_The view here is nice."_

"_Mhm, yeah."_

_She could see that Junpei's anxiety had subsided. The trademark smile had returned and if he was still scared, he didn't show it. Everything felt comfortable whenever the guy was around. They've had their own share of spats and green-eyed monsters, but they've gotten through them all._

_Nothing could ever ruin their now rock-solid friendship, not even the end for humanity._

* * *

"Minako!" Yukari shrieked as the said girl fell to her knees. "A-Are y—"

* * *

"_... I felt that I just really wanted you to enjoy them. You're a precious friend of mine, after all."_

_Minako was at awe at the headphones that was now in her grasp. The timid-looking girl smiled modestly at her as the more outgoing of them seemed to be at an absolute loss for words, still staring at the accessory she had made._

"_I'll take good care of them!" Minako exclaimed, replacing her old headphones with the ones her friend gave her. "I'll be using them now, Fuu-chan!"_

_Fuuka chuckled to herself. "You have icing on your face, Minako-chan."_

* * *

_'What…' _The grip Minako had on her newly-obtained naginata grew tighter the more images flooded her mind.

_'What are these...?' _The first ones scared her.

They showed her faces of people she didn't know. Or rather, of people she _thought _she didn't know. The memory played at the back of her mind like a long-forgotten video. It reminded her of all the times she had gone through before.

Memories of _them_ smiling, and crying, and she was there. _Minako_ was with them. Some made her want to break down and cry. She started to remember, little by little, and soon after, she understood why she felt so anxious. Everything still seemed hazy, and her head felt like exploding for all the things that suddenly bombarded her.

Her head and her heart throbbed in pain.

* * *

"_Ssh, you have to keep still, okay Koro-chan?" Minako whispered to the furry canine, who looked up at her as if to say 'okay' as she continued to carry him in her arms._

"_Miss, pets aren't allowed inside the theater." The guard had told her with a hard frown once they had reached the entryway._

"_But... Koro-chan is a doll. I_ have _to bring him everywhere!_"_ They ignored the looks that other people threw at them, and Minako put up one of her infamous puppy-eyed looks. "He's a gift from a good friend who lives overseas..."_

_The man eyed them suspiciously, but gave up soon after he had lost to the girl's pleading. Koromaru wiggled and wagged his tail in pure excitement once they finally got inside. Minako laughed a small laugh and reminded the jumpy dog to keep still. Later on, they were kicked out of the theater by management. Koromaru, of course, was beyond disappointment. He growled and whined and whimpered as they stood out of the theater._

_"Don't worry." Minako smiled at Koromaru. "I'll buy the DVD so we can both watch it, okay?"_

_The loyal canine was more than happy to hear it._

* * *

They had to run.

Minako grabbed Yukari's hand as she sprinted. She had no time to reminisce, they _had _to live through this first!

When they arrived at the lounge, the archer appeared relieved, until Mitsuru's voice turned up in her ear piece. The static ruffled the communication, but it failed to hinder it that the two were still able to hear each other well.

* * *

**Takeba, do you _read_ me?**

* * *

"Y-yes! I hear you!"

* * *

**Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one_ we're_ fighting _isn't_ the one Akihiko saw!**

* * *

Minako already knew by Yukari's expression that something had come up and whatever that something was, the girl definitely did not expect it. Her own apprehension had died down, but she knew the other junior's didn't.

"_W-what?" _A loud, impact was heard shortly, earning a sharp gasp from them.

Yukari didn't even have to tell Minako anymore before they hurriedly made their way up to the second floor. There was the sound of shattered glass, and thunderous noises. Such reverberation could only come from something so huge and heavy.

"W-what was that?" Minako saw the panic shoot throughout her dorm mate.

The shaking didn't stop.

"It's getting closer!"

"Let's keep moving! _Come on_!" Deciding that they both didn't have time for any of it, Minako grabbed Yukari's wrist once more and they rushed their way up the higher floors. She wouldn't risk the possibility of either of them getting hurt, nor getting caught.

She had to keep Yukari safe.

* * *

"_You... You're our leader!" Yukari glared at her. It happened so rarely that it caught her off-guard. "And, w... what would _I_ do if _you_ died?"_

_Minako knew that her friend lashed out at her because she was surprised, stunned, and whatever else it was that they felt at the moment. She herself was nervous too. It all happened in such a short amount of time. She didn't mind the pain that stung her palm, she was just glad that neither one of them were badly hurt. If she was any second too late, she wouldn't have gotten away with just a scratch._

_"You _idiot_..!" It was one of the very rare times that Yukari pulled her into a tight hug, one that was so tight that Minako thought Yukari coould probably throw Junpei over her shoulder if she _really _wanted to._

* * *

Eventually, they reached the rooftop.

"The door's locked, I think we're safe for now..." Yukari concluded as she heaved a small sigh. "...?"

They whipped their attention towards the far edge of the building, where numerous hands invaded their view. One stood out from the rest, and held up a queer, blue mask. Another batch of hands came into view, holding blades in the grasp of each. In response, Minako pursed her lips and prepared herself. She brandished the naginata and waited for the right moment to rush in. The eye holes of the monster's mask appeared to stare so intensely at them, and its nonexistent gaze locked with the transferee's vivid red eyes.

_'Magician...' _She glared as it crawled forward, mindlessly swinging the metal blades in its hands.

Magician crept closer, and a swirl of fiery red blazed beneath it before flames swept the hesitant Yukari violently off to the sidelines. The evoker slipped out of her grasp and flung towards Minako, who lowered herself and picked it up. Facing straight ahead, she looked up at the shadow straight in its mask's empty eyes.

The shadow mocked her, _dared _her to aim for herself. Magician dashed forward for an attack, and Minako only stared at its horrid form with a smile as she brought the gun up to her temple..

And pulled the trigger.

_"Persona."_

* * *

**?**

**Velvet Room**

"It's so nice to see you again." She opened her eyes to find herself in a room covered in blue and velvet. "You still remember the Velvet Room, I suppose?"

* * *

_His lips trembled as he struggled for the words to escape his lips. He felt nervous, and so he fiddled with the hem of his jacket. It was a little unbelievable for such a level-headed individual such as himself. She could clearly see that despite the anxiety that was chewing on him, he was doing his best to express himself, to let himself be heard for once._

_"Is something the matter, Ken?"_

_Ken stared down at the floor momentarily before looking back up to meet his senpai's gaze. "It's okay if I take a little more of your time, right?"_

"_Can I... stay here for a little longer…? Can I?" He observed as Minako blinked her eyes, before flashing her that smile that made him feel funny every time he went out to eat with her._

_It wasn't before long that Ken found himself smiling as well. She always had that effect on him. No matter how awful his day had been, whenever he hung around with her, all the blues would be chased away. This girl, she was six years older than him._

_He knew her heart belonged to someone else, but he loved her anyway._

* * *

"Please, have a seat." He said to her and traced the serious expression etched across Minako's features with his gaze.

"I'm afraid my assistant cannot entertain you right now." Igor continued impassively. He gestured to the empty space beside him.

"You need not concern yourself with such trivial matters." He said to her, that eerie smile never leaving. "You _still are_ our honored guest, after all."

* * *

_It was strange of him to suddenly ask about how she was doing, but Minako was more than glad that he started up a conversation. She responded by asking him how he himself was doing, a hint of concern in her tone because she had noticed that he seemed put off. He invited her out to eat, but it only had been deafening silence until now. She decided to stop playing with her meal because it reminded her too much of Shinjiro._

_She distracted herself and returned Akihiko's steel silver gaze._

_He was troubled, and his expression clearly showed it. She didn't understand, but she found out that she was the cause of Akihiko's stress. She was troubling someone, and she didn't like it one bit. Of course, being the sweet guy deep down that she knew he was, he immediately cleared up what he had said._

"_Is... Is there any way that you can avoid having to fight?" Once again, he looked away from her. "Oh... Never mind, sorry. Forget what I just said. I mean, you're trying your hardest out of all of us."_

_"I'm sorry.." Akihiko's knuckles turned more white in frustration. "I shouldn't have said that to you."_

_And with that, Minako thought, she shouldn't be going on like some fake doll with a smile painted on her face. She had people she cared about, and people who cared and worried for her in turn._

* * *

"Why am I alive?" Her voice cracked.

She didn't mean to say it the way she did, but it was making her chip away to realize that she _shouldn't_ be there. That she shouldn't be able to breathe and blink and laugh with Junpei over the past few days.

Everything felt like a dream, until fate slapped her hard on the face by flooding her with her memories. When she had that nagging feeling, she didn't expect to remember that she was with Aigis last, that she was smiling when she breathed her last breath.

"I... I was with Aigis... on the rooftop...We...?" She just couldn't stop thinking.

What the_ hell_ was this sick joke that life was pulling on her? She was supposed to be _dead_. She _died. _She _sacrificed _her own life so that _everyone else_ could live.

Had her sacrifice been for _nothing_?

The master of the Velvet Room could only provide her the little assurance of remembering her, and what had happened during her past life, no matter how absurd it sounded, even to her. "While it is true that I do recall the events of having welcomed you in here before, I cannot answer the questions that trouble you."

_'This does not make sense!_'

Her insides felt like they all twisted and turned, in ways that seemed impossible. She shook her head, taking a deep sigh, as if to convince herself to calm down. Igor's smile appeared to crease ever so slightly at her predicament. Minako's expression had twisted into something that of hurt and confusion.

_This _was reality.

She was _alive_.

* * *

_Just when she thought she would never have to cry her heart out again because she had already lost everything to the incident that happened ten years ago, Minako found herself grieving with something that hurt as equally, if not more._

"_Why…" She didn't understand why it had to turn out like this. "Senpai…!"_

"_Don't cry…" The man weakly said to her, coughing._

_She couldn't help it, she wanted to say to him. She knew she made a promise, but her heart refused to listen and calm down. Seeing him like that, it shattered her façade. It was as if she just watched her whole world go down in flames. She couldn't take it. If she could just take the wounds from him so she would be the one in misery, to ease him of the pain, she would._

_She really couldn't help it. The tears just kept coming all by themselves, blurring her vision of everything._

"_J-just hang on, o-okay?" Minako stuttered violently, something that was supposed to be very unlikely._

_She wasn't even aware that she was absolutely shaking. She could easily hear the others lose their cool, going on about hospitals and how there were none available during the Dark Hour, but she was stubborn. She kept on pulling the trigger of her evoker and using healing spells, of which none seemed to have any effect._

_"No, no, no!" Even if Shinjiro gave up on himself, she refused to give up on him._

"_This is… how it's supposed to be…"_

* * *

"I..." Her face lit up with strong determination, as if she had come up with a decision as heavy as the one she made when she decided to face Nyx.

"I'm going to change the future." She answered, staring right back at Igor with full power this time.

"I see that you've made up your mind."

_'I'm going to save all of them,'_ She recalled all the events that she could remember happening throughout her first round, all the people that got hurt.

_'And I'm going to save_ him_ this time…'_ Minako thought to herself, a painful sensation coming down upon her chest as she bit her lower lip.

Igor continued to observe her, with big eyes that seemed to scrutinize her for any hesitation. Finding none, he joined his slender, gloved fingers curtly and nodded. "…Very well."

Meeting her friends-turned-family for the first time, the ordeals they had to face, and the difficult choices they had to make to ensure humanity's future. They were just silly teens, going through adolescence and struggling with high school. Having experienced the horrors of the Dark Hour, and facing against the creatures that should have never existed, it all made them come out stronger and wiser. The emotional turmoil that was thrown at them resulting from the loss of people close to them and to assure that no more shall come, it was what greatly helped them to form such a strong bond.

"I look forward to your next visit, until we meet again... Master Minako."

* * *

**End of chapter.**

... I named the _rabbit _doll, _Rabbit-chan... /facepalm_

Anyway, **thank **_**you**_ for taking the time to read this chapter! It turned out longer than I expected. Any comments or suggestions? **Don't hesitate to leave a review!**


	2. Track 1: Memories

Wow... Really, _wow. _Thank you to **Deidara'sgirl19, Skarrow, Tsuki Rae, and Nicole Vermillion **for the reviews!

**Warning/s: **Stillusing game script, and still unbeta'd.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series, nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. All rights belong to Atlus.

* * *

_Goodbye, the answer we were searching for is something we'll never find now._

_Every time I pick up the scattered photographs, the memories come back._

* * *

_**Loading...**_

**TRACK 1**

* * *

**4/19 – Su**

**Daytime**

**Tatsumi Memorial Hospital**

"I'm sorry," Yukari spoke with that tone she uncommonly used. "You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward..."

Minako could not sew a smile on her face, but her expression consoled Yukari that she was not to blame. This was not yet the Yukari that could understand that things happen with or without anyone there to blame for it happening. This was Yukari who was still in the process of letting others in.

"It's not your fault."

Yukari's lips formed a very small curve. A small smile.

"Thanks, but still," The archer languidly glanced downwards. "And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up."

Minako was quiet as Yukari followed the script.

She felt awful.

Yukari was telling her things that were very personal for her, things that were part of her life—things only _Minako _would ever know—but this was _destiny_ at work. It appeared to be quite a trivial matter now, but after few months, it would be more than an ugly feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

She remembered everything like a bizarre, lucid dream. Whatever it was that she was feeling, she did not have the right word to describe it.

Who _could_? Minako thought bitterly. She was so upset, she felt like a_ fool._ What was life trying to pull by making her live 2009 all over again? This was some sick infernal _joke_.

She had to be dreaming, she _had _to be.

"I'll let the others know you woke up." Yukari nodded as she walked towards the door.

But, at the same time, this was another chance. She had been given another chance.

"Oh," She stopped for a second and looked back at Minako. "You don't have to be formal around me or anything."

The curve on Yukari's lips was now an official smile. "Us second-year girls gotta stick up for each other, after all."

When Yukari disappeared, Minako sunk further back into her bed and she cradled her face in her hands.

_This _was real.

She was just another stranger for them, but they remained to be her closest friends—her _family_ for her. It was going to be the first time that she would keep secrets from them—from _Junpei_, but she had to do it. She had to do her best to keep from them what she knew. Minako only wished that they could find it in themselves to forgive her, after everything's over.

Life never really gave her much of a choice.

* * *

**4/20 – M**

**Early Morning**

**Gekkoukan High School**

Going back to school the next day wasn't a big deal, but considering that she had just been out from the hospital, Yukari didn't think that it was wise. She didn't hide her disapproval, but Minako had been too convincing that she was left to sigh in defeat.

'I _have _to go,' Minako thought.

She only needed to review, but it wasn't as if all the lessons were all still fresh in her mind. She hadn't completely forgotten them, but she did not want to risk being_ too_ confident. Her senpai would have not liked it at all if she messed her grades up, no matter how helpful she might turn out to be later on for the 'team'.

Mitsuru always dropped hints, ones that Junpei easily missed, of wanting a future for them that did not involve Shadows.

It was Junpei who greeted her first in the morning when she finally arrived in Gekkoukan. The concern was scrawled over his face, and it was one of the few times she had seen him so serious. He asked why she wasn't around for a while, and he wore the same frown Yukari had when he was answered.

"You still look a bit pale to me..." Junpei poked her forehead.

"But I've always been pale!" She smiled and giggled and told him she was indeed okay.

"Oh, you love me too much." Minako teased him.

Junpei just laughed it off. "Man, of course I do!"

He seemed pretty excited to tell her something, but Minako didn't push. She wasn't going to spoil it for him. Yukari had caught up with her soon after, muttering about voices that were so loud that she could hear them all the way from the station while fixing her unwelcoming gaze on Junpei.

"What? I just left a little late!" Yukari had reasoned, annoyed at Junpei's comment regarding her and Minako's separate time of arrival in an attempt to not spread any rumor.

"Anyways, I need to talk to her," She shooed Junpei away and began to drag Minako off with her. "Bye-bye, Junpei."

"_Whaaat..._"

Junpei just groaned as he watched the two walk away. He scratched the back of his head as his gaming friend bowed to him from a growing distance as an apology.

"Are you feeling better?" Yukari asked, with the same smile she wore yesterday. She pursed her lips for a moment before continuing to speak. "Um, sorry to hit you with this first thing in the morning, but Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today."

With the mention of the said nihilistic traitor, Minako's expression almost slipped and darkened. She had the memory of an angry elephant when it came to remembering things that hurt her. Of _course_! _T__hat's _why she loathed him the moment she laid her eyes on him.

_He _was the reason why everything had to go from bad to _worse._

_"_Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay?"

Minako nodded without answering, something Yukari interpreted as tiredness.

"Don't forget."

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dorm**

Before opening the doors that led to the Command Room, Minako prepared herself first.

"Should I go and get some tea first?" She mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth.

In an effort to calm herself faster, she switched her mp3 player on and turned the volume higher.

Music.

She was instantly so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot to wear the headphones. She just needed the music, music calmed her nerves.

If she went in there and saw Ikutsuki, how was she going to react? How was she _supposed_ to act? SEES was wrapped around Ikutsuki's finger. All he had to do was to sit on his throne and wait until they've finished the work for him. If she turned out strange, everything would go down the drain.

'Nobody will believe me.' Minako snapped at herself.

They were his innocent, experimental lambs. The times he praised them came flooding into her mind. Seeing him smile now just made her want to throw up.

Minako never dreamed of taking someone's life, but whenever Ikutsuki crossed her mind, she found it hard to _not _even think of getting back. The man was the closest she had to a_ parent _since she had lost hers. To discover that he had been faking it all along, it made her so angry.

He had used them, _all_ of them, but not one of them were even given the chance to throw a pebble for his betrayal. Emotions didn't give anyone the right to kill anyone, but for the things he did to them, who was going to say otherwise?

She had _every _right to hate Shuji Ikutsuki.

"You going to go in there?" A male voice suddenly spoke behind Minako, and she would've jumped if not for the fact that she was busy bracing herself to meet the man who could very well ruin all again.

_'Akihiko!' _Minako initially thought _and almost _blurted out, thankful that she didn't.

She looked like a complete nincompoop. Or at least, someone who could've been mistaken for an awe-stricken fan, because she just stared at him like that. The happiness that stemmed from seeing him again choked her, but the memory of how she'd hurt him made a scratch on her heart. Both happened so fast and at the same time that she didn't realize Akihiko had already gone a stride nearer.

"Hey, you okay?" Akihiko asked coolly, but his eyes hinted worry.

"W-Well... I..." Minako didn't mean to stutter, her mind just worked faster than her body.

She didn't mean to flinch either when the senior reached out to her. Her back made abrupt contact with the door behind her and it made a soft 'thud!'. Her earphones, which improperly hung loosely around her neck, slipped off with the sudden movement and fell on the smooth carpet. Perhaps the volume of the song drowned out her soft stuttering of five seconds earlier, but it failed to stop Minako's expression from twisting because of the awkwardness of the situation.

"Um," The boxer had gone to retrieve her music player along with its accessory before she could. With one of his swift hands, he scooped the little gadget and reached it out to the flushed Minako. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry..."

"Ah, no! It's my fault, I'm sorry!" Minako responded, and she bowed generously at Akihiko as an apology. "Thank you very much!"

Only an 'EH?' escaped her lips as she felt herself falling backwards ungracefully. The door she had been leaning on suddenly moved, and she would've tumbled into the room if not for Yukari, who had caught her and was the one responsible for it. The archer was urged to check outside of the room after the people inside had heard something hit the door.

"Minako?" Yukari threw her an inquisitive stare. "Oh, and, uh, Sanada-senpai!"

"...What are you guys doing?"

Minako quickly regained her poise, glad that Yukari had thought nothing of it and looked back again at Akihiko. Well, _hopefully _she thought nothing of it.

"Nothing." Akihiko had answered nonchalantly at Yukari, who shot a suspicious look at the well-toned senior and had caught him in an unusual, mid-air pose earlier.

Akihiko had impulsively extended out to Minako, and would've been there to pull her forward. With great uneasiness, Minako apologized again to the senior. She refused to look him in the eye because of the heavy feeling of embarrassment and was quick to follow Yukari as they heard Mitsuru's 'command' for them to come into the room immediately.

"Ah, you're here." Ikutsuki started with a smile. "I'm glad that you're okay. I wasn't sure what I'd do if anything bad had happened to you."

_'_Yes_, because _you _wouldn't want to lose a precious guinea pig.' _The naginata-wielder seethed in her mind bitterly, but ever so careful not to give herself away.

"Thank you." And she could just feel the bile crawl up her insides as Ikutsuki chuckled.

* * *

"Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—SEES for short." Ikutsuki's eyes had been focused on her.

She was greatly tempted to squirm her way out of the room.

"On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows." He gestured towards Mitsuru as he explained. "Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club adviser."

The conversation went on for a few more moments, and Minako wasn't really paying attention anymore. She had this talk before, and it was quite pointless to listen again to information she already knew. Still, she appeared to be taking everything Mitsuru provided for her in intently. Already knowing didn't give her an excuse to be rude, after all.

After Ikutsuki had finished his talk about people who had the 'potential' and how Persona-users, such as themselves in particular, were the only ones who were able to fight against the should-have-never-existed Shadows, Minako observed as tension engulfed the room.

"I'm glad you're quick to understand." The so-called 'adviser' gestured again towards Mitsuru, who, in turn, opened the briefcase that rested forgotten until now.

Minako felt the urge to smile. Inside the briefcase was a silver gun—her Evoker, gleaming ever so proudly.

"What he's trying to say is, we want you to join us. We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."

Minako had taken a very quick glance at the people around her.

They observed her with utmost apprehension, but Ikutsuki never failed to catch her eye for being... 'different', in a way that nobody else seemed to mind at all. How could she not have noticed him before everything went haywire? There was only deafening silence, all eyes were intensely on her before she lifted her head up and nodded.

"... I'll help."

She had heard Yukari sigh in relief, and the tension shortly died down. And with that, she was now formally a member of SEES again.

The sound of glass shattering rang in her mind, a signal of an initiated link. _Thou art I... And I am thou... _the voice continued to speak to Minako as she was welcomed into the team. She kept on smiling for the rest of the members while the corner of her eye stayed on guard to catch even the tiniest hint of malevolence in Ikutsuki's smile.

* * *

**Dark Hour**

**Minako's Room**

It felt just like seconds ago that she arrived in her room and let sleep carry her away. Now she had her eyes open again, looking straight into pools of absurdly vibrant blue eyes that rivaled her red. Pharos was looming above her with the spookiest smile she had already grown used to seeing.

"Oh, hello there." The boy greeted monotonously, his gaze seemed to go through her. "So, how are you?"

A few seconds more have passed before her reaction finally caught up with her.

"Pharos!" Minako gasped and immediately sat upright.

Pharos was smiling, undisturbed by the way the girl had suddenly grabbed his shoulders, not even if she was using the iron grip she had developed over her ordeals of dealing with Shadows. His expression stayed the same, despite the wave of emotions that swept the calm off Minako.

She was hysterical.

Was it because of the stress she was unconsciously carrying? Or was it from fatigue she still retained from her stay in the hospital? She didn't know anymore.

"Pharos...?" The ghostly child cocked his head to a side. "I do not know anyone or _anything _called Pharos..."

"What? But... How can you... But _you're _Pharos! You—" Minako was probably shouting at that point, struggling to find words to say at that moment, her hands on both the boy's shoulders trembling.

"Don't tell me..." Her eyes started to water, silently screaming and _pleading_ to Pharos.

"... You too...?" She trailed off, absolutely terrified of what just struck her._ 'You... don't remember me too?'_

_'I'll be watching you...'_

The words played in her mind like one of Mutatsu's sutras. The first time she had heard the words from Pharos, she undoubtedly felt scared, confused, but strangely secured. No matter what happened, she was welcome in his arms, _Death_'s arms.

'_You didn't keep your promise.' _Her hold on Death's more naive form loosened, and she did her best to push back her tears.

She wasn't going to cry, she told herself over and over. If she cried, the Shinjiro she knew would surely get upset, and she didn't want him to feel bad. She made a promise, her only promise to him, and she was going to keep it.

"...?" She senses a hand stroke her hair, making her thoughts come into a halt.

She lifted her face to look at Pharos. She found the boy looking at her with an intrigued expression, and he was putting more effort into reaching up to gently touch the auburn locks of the girl in front of him. His fingers felt just like a soft breeze, and his hands were cold against her skin, just like winter.

"Oh," His gaze never left her. "... I came to tell you something I remembered."

"Soon, the end will come. The end of everything..." He glanced sideways and his smile momentarily disappeared from her view. "... But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."

Pharos smiled again at the ruby-red eyes that vainly tried to fight back the want to rest. "The end is inevitable, no one can do anything about it."

Minutes later, the child tilted his head to the side. The resident of the room had fallen sound asleep, so he laid her back down, for reasons he did not have in particular.

"Okay then, I'll see you next time." The words hauntingly lingered as the boy slowly disappeared into the darkness that the wretched, cursed hour brought.

* * *

**4/21 – Tu**

**Evening**

**Tartarus**

There was a tremor underneath their feet, and before their very eyes, they watched as their beloved school turned into something else. The institution meant for education gave way to a tower that stretched higher than the tallest edifice that could be seen beyond the horizon. The labyrinth radiated with the most unusual, and unearthly glow.

_"What _happened_ to our school?" _Junpei almost went crazy.

He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed and, with his exceptionally loud voice, started spewing pointless questions at Mitsuru in an attempt to enlighten himself.

Akihiko glanced at the new members to merely observe their reactions. Junpei was the most recent to join the team, and had reacted exactly the way Akihiko assumed that he would, not that the pugilist was the kind who'd more often analyze things first before throwing in a punch. He thought Junpei bordered on comical, but having it confirmed was just _rich_.

Minako Arisato, on the other hand, was something else.

Though he was only given the chance to witness her abilities through the cameras, her movement during the fight against the Shadows impressed him. Her moves were so..._natural_. The way she handled the naginata, it was as if it was _made_ for her. He couldn't believe that Minako Arisato, who single-handedly finished off such an immense shadow, was the same girl who was so.. _jumpy_ around him.

Their first meeting led Akihiko to ask himself, had he done something uncomfortable for her, without him knowing? With a sigh, he decided that he should probably make it up to her, whatever it was that he did. If he ignored the little fact that she made him feel a little uneasy, he would admit that Minako Arisato was interesting, and Mitsuru clearly felt the same way.

"Oh, and Akihiko, I know you are enthusiastic, but you won't be accompanying us today." Mitsuru reminded the boxing club's captain.

The pugilist's whose boyish features wrinkled as the juniors turned to look at him, one of them enjoying it more than the other two.

"I-I know already!" Akihiko growled as he heard Iori chuckle.

Sometimes he could swear that times like this were Mitsuru's own version of 'jokes'.

* * *

**4/22 – W**

**Gekkoukan High School**

"Hey man, something wrong?" Kenji, a classmate of theirs piped up as he shifted his attention from his lunch to Junpei, who had sighed for the fifth time in the last three minutes.

Junpei gave a poke at the sushi in his bento, completely lost in thought.

"Nothing."

The memories of last night's Tartarus expedition troubled him. When Minako was chosen to be their field leader, it was him who initially reacted. He even got scolded by Mitsuru because of his little outburst, something about gender and a person's capabilities.

Maybe it _was_ half-true that he thought that they made a mistake. That he thought it was weird for a girl to be in charge. He was not going to admit that he was deeply rooted to the idea that girls should always stay behind a man's shield to be protected. He thought that way, because Minako _was_ a _girl_.

_No_, oh no way, he was not belittling her, _oh no_. He was just worried, concerned—_vexed, _that Minako was going to be the one to handle the responsibility. That he was going to watch her rush into battle and that he was to let her lead him into it.

Yes, probably he didn't know the things that Yukari and the others did about her, but she was also_ his_ friend, and although it was a great relief for him that he would be 'embarking on a mission to defeat shadows' with his classmates, he really didn't want them to get hurt.

Minako was friendly, fun, and... always smiling. He wanted her to stay that way for the many years that they were gonna be together as buddies. It wasn't to exaggerate, but she truly was kind to him. She didn't call him 'stupid', a 'loser' or a 'pervert'. There were very few girls who could stand being around him, and ones who would actually smile honestly while hanging out with him were gems.

They were _rare_.

Besides, Minako had just gone out of her week-long stay from the hospital, and then all these weird stuff suddenly started happening.

Junpei thought that she _must've_ been completely stressed. He _knew_ how it was like to tell everyone else that you're okay, even when you're not. He knew how it was to slap on a grin, even if you were already _this_ close to giving up.

So, the moment class ended, he made his way to Minako's seat. There she was, greetings and smiles and all. He hadn't even planned out his speech yet, but he decided that whatever came out of his mouth would most likely do—hopefully.

"Yo," He greeted with a grin. "Mind hanging out with me after this?"

He saw Minako raise a brow.

"I know someplace that's really good! It'll be my treat! C'mon, let's go!"

The girl laughed, and he knew she knew that he wouldn't give up until she said yes. "Sure, let's go!"

Junpei's grin widened even more. "Alright! Now you're talkin'!"

* * *

**After School**

**Iwatodai Strip Mall**

**Hagakure Ramen**

It was as if the last time she ate out with her best friend had already been _decades_ ago.

They were almost always in Hagakure, talking about things she usually didn't talk about with Yukari. The place gave off a homey feel, not to mention its comfortable atmosphere if one would disregard the number of people who ate there and the noise that they made.

_"Umm... Alright! We'll have two specials!"_

Minako broadly smiled, she_ loved_ the special. "That sounds good." She absolutely missed the exquisite flavor of Hagakure's ramen.

Moments later, the waiter had come to bring their orders, placing a bowl in front of each of the two. Minako's stomach growled, literally, making Junpei chuckle. She blamed the pleasant smell of the ramen for that.

"_Ahh_, hot hot hot...!" Minako laughed.

She didn't mind the way her classmate-now-turned-dorm mate ate noisily. This was Junpei, she was used to his habits. She actually enjoyed it a lot when he kept his grin even while eating—it made her feel like they were normal, even just for a while.

"Hey," Junpei had paused and looked at her with concern. He poked the noodles in his ramen bowl uneasily. "You seemed full of energy at school, but I was kind of worried."

Minako smiled. "Is that why you invited me out?"

"Huh? Oh, um... Well, yeah!" The joker stumbled on his words, but the grin was back on his face. "I had some problems when I transferred here, too. In your case, you've got all the fighting stuff on top of that..."

"I was wondering if you weren't accustomed to school or whatever..." He sighed.

"Then again, I think you'll do just fine!" Junpei laughed whole-heartedly, despite feeling embarrassed.

The Magician link expectedly rang in her mind as they continued to finish their orders. She felt the slightest irritation creep up on her, but she dismissed it knowing that it was futile to entertain it.

Minako did not get to know people because she wanted to raise her social links. It wasn't because she wanted her personas to get stronger, but because she genuinely liked people. She liked helping people out, listening to them. She could care less about the benefits.

"Thanks." Minako smiled at him, before taking a sip of her soup.

Junpei continued to watch her, feeling the urge to smile too. "Heh, still... Girls and guys livin' in the same dorm? That can't be good."

"Eh?"

"Oh, don't worry 'bout me." Junpei shrugged, with one of the goofiest expressions he ever wore.

"I don't drag love into my work." He said, grinning. "Then again, I can't guarantee that I won't fall for_ somebody_, mwahaha!"

"Huh? Who's falling for who?" Minako was genuinely confused, but her eyes soon twinkled. "_Wait,_ is it Yukari?"

Junpei's jaw dropped. "_Whaaat?_"

"Ehhh? Junpei _likes _Yukari?"

"_No_, no, _don't_ even go there!"

They finished eating soon after, talking about the most random topics—Yukari's obvious love for pink, and how everything had been so far. Minako had told Junpei about their encounter with Magician, when he had asked her about her 'first' awakening to her power. It was convenient that everyone else in the restaurant minded their own business, and didn't really listen to anyone else's even if their voices turned a notch higher.

"You've got a funny imagination, you know that?" Junpei said, but took a moment to think about it. "Well, I kinda want some animal sidekick. Remember old Cyborg Kuro-chan?_ Ohhh_ that was so cool!"

Minako laughed as they rose from their seats to leave and remembered the time they got Koromaru in the team.

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dorm**

"And there was this mean-looking guy senpai, maybe a _biiiiiit _taller than you, even!"

Once Akihiko had decided that he had heard enough after listening to Junpei's absurd story halfway through, the image of his burly-looking friend popped in his mind. He decided to shrug it off though, because he shouldn't be assuming that it was him, for every time that he would hear a similar description. The juniors wouldn't go to somewhere dangerous—he was pretty sure they were in their right minds, no matter how they looked like. Besides, he thought, there could have been a hundred of men out there who could've satisfied the said 'big guy' and 'gangster-looking' conditions.

"I'm going to sleep." He said to no one in particular, leaving Mitsuru to keep grilling Junpei.

"Oh... Uh, goodnight Sanada-senpai." Yukari had responded, earning a somewhat surprised expression from the boxer.

The archer usually kept to herself, only speaking when asked something.

'_Arisato, huh?_'

"Yeah, goodnight Takeba." Akihiko nodded and said goodnight to everyone else.

He didn't know if they heard him though, but nevertheless he didn't wait anymore to confirm anything before he went up to the second floor.

* * *

"...?"

Catching a glimpse of auburn as he neared the last few steps, Akihiko stopped on his tracks at the end of the stairs.

_'Arisato...?'_

He took a few silent steps nearer and found that it was indeed the said junior. She stood in front of the room beside his, for reasons known to nobody else but her. What was he supposed to do? Should he go and tell her that no one currently resided in that room?

Akihiko rubbed his temple.

That morning when he spoke with her, everything went okay, but thinking about it, the last and the also the _first _time he had personally talked to her, with _just _the two of them, the girl practicallylooked like she wanted to run _away_ from him. He had the idea that Arisato didn't like him, or perhaps he just gave her an_ utterly wrong_ impression.

Akihiko sighed heavily, forgetting that he was supposed to be quiet.

"Who—?"

But it seemed like it was too late when he realized it.

"Huh?" Minako had jumped slightly and she stared at him with her bright, red eyes. "Senpai?"

"Oh, uh, hey there." He waved with dumb uneasiness. What was he going to tell her now?

He saw her bite down her lip. "I'm sorry."

"I'm... I'm going back to my room now." Slight panic was evident in her eyes. "So, goodnight senpai!"

Akihiko blinked. "Huh?"

"H-Hey wait!" Despite his best attempt to stop her, Minako easily escaped him and she proceeded hastily to the forbidden third floor.

The senior found himself dumbfounded. It was almost impossible for anyone to just side-step and run from him. He trained fervently. He'd been fighting shadows for years now, and he was undoubtedly the _captain _of the _boxing _club, where _speed _was inevitably a requirement if you lacked the power. He had _both,_ and that just meant that _he _had the _swiftest, quickest, _most _agile _body out of _everyone _in Gekkoukan. It was unimaginable for someone normal to avoid him, but Minako Arisato had done just that.

_'What the _hell _just _happened_?'_

Granted, Arisato wasn't just anybody, but she made it seem like he was just some..._beginner!_

* * *

**End.**

Thank you for sticking around, for those who are still here! Tell me if something's wrong (grammar, typos, etc.) or off, okay? If you're free, **leave a review!** See you in the next chapter!


	3. Track 2: Come Home

Thank you very much to: **Skarrow**, **Meow Factory**, **Tsuki Rae**, **XxXTwilight-SinXxX**, **perfectly weird**, **Gilderich von Edelweiss**, **TheArcanaQuotes**, **arkee**, **Shini'chi Raine** for the reviews!

Thank you, too, to those who put this in their favorites and alert list! Lyrics used doesn't really have much of a significance.

**Warning: Unbeta'd.** I also don't do fast development. ;A;

**Disclaimer: **All rights belong to Atlus.

* * *

_Hello world, hope you're listening._

_Forgive me if I'm young, for speaking out of turn._

_There's someone I've been missing._

_I think that they could be the better half of me._

* * *

_**Loading...**_

**TRACK 2**

* * *

**4/25 – Sa**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

Akihiko was the only one in the lounge that night. His gloves' maintenance was the only thing he could let himself be absorbed in.

Nothing good was on TV, not like he ever bothered. It wasn't like he would willingly eat anything Junpei had stashed in the kitchen either. He wasn't going to take the risk of ruining his diet because it could affect his training. There was no club meeting today. No homework or even_ anything_ _at all _to research on either. Instead of feeling relief over the fact that he had nothing to do, like how it normally was, he felt utterly frustrated.

He double checked each of his notebooks, as if assignments would magically appear on them if he was stubborn enough. He was _itching_ to do something, _anything_ at all, but he eventually gave up on making a fool out of himself once he had convinced himself that there was, indeed—absolutely _nothing _to do in the dormitory.

Of course, that meant that he really had the rest of the day after dismissal with the company of this so-called 'boredom'.

"Agghn..." A frustrated sigh escaped his lips again, and he languidly dragged his gaze around the lounge.

Mitsuru wouldn't let him do anything that could hinder his arm's recovery, and it made Akihiko Sanada irritated. He silently pleaded to Kami to give him at least something else to look at, aside from the grandfather clock across him.

Moments later, as if his prayers had been heard, the door opened and he saw the blob of auburn that was Arisato Minako poke through the door. His gaze casually followed the girl with impossibly red eyes as she entered the lounge. Once the junior had instantly noticed the lone figure that was seated on the couch, she immediately turned her heels and paid attention to the sign-in sheet.

Akihiko noticed, since he was pouring all his attention to the newcomer, and he winced because he just didn't understand why she avoided him. Beneath his seemingly cool headed-appearance, he was feeling incredulous.

"Uh, hey..." Or at least, it appeared like that to him. Sighing, he felt like he needed to treat her like a bird, so careful that she would not fly away. "You, there.."

With the SEES leader's attention now uncomfortably all on him, Akihiko suddenly had the urge to scratch the back of his head and rip off his gaze from the one that was now fixed on him. He started to brace himself for that funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, the one he felt before when the junior ran away from him—in case he'd find himself abandoned yet again.

"No one else is here." The boxer brought up his gaze to meet hers.

"Oh," Minako blinked. "I see..."

Akihiko gave her a small (and partly uncomfortable) nod. "Anyway, welcome back."

He instantly wondered whether or not it was okay for him to say that to her. Was it going to weird her out more? Was 'weird' the image that he projected to her? The others always greeted her, and she didn't seem to have a problem whenever they did. But then again, that was them, and Akihiko could only ever be Akihiko.

As if to answer him, instead of making up an excuse and disappearing to the next floor, Minako awkwardly gave him a small smile. It was the first smile he got from her. It was a little unsettled, but it was still a smile—and at the same time, an improvement for Akihiko.

"Thank you." She bowed lightly to the pugilist before she made her way up to her room.

She probably didn't hear his shuffling 'W-Wait!' because she was already gone within the blink of an eye. She was very agile, the boy couldn't help but notice. He thought that maybe she wasn't actually leaving in a hurry this time, and that felt well. The girl merely moved fast.

The relief he'd long been searching for swept over Akihiko as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He felt triumphant, and he was soon busy with praising himself for not scaring her away this time.

Once it all settled in him, he glanced down on his lap and realized that he was alone again. He only had his boxing gloves and vile boredom to keep him company. The slow ticking of the damned clock continued to taunt him in a way he never thought of it capable.

* * *

**4/26 – Su**

**Daytime**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Hey Akihiko-senpai."

"Hey."

There was just silence that followed the creaking sound of a chair being pulled. Junpei made a mental note to closely watch his senior, in an attempt to discover the source of the young man's charm. Or, at least, unlock a few secrets that his fangirls wouldlike to know.

The junior continued to slurp his ramen, just as how Akihiko seemed oblivious to the rest of the world.

"Hey?"

"What is it?"

While it was obvious that the still-recovering senior was perfectly comfortable with the lack of conversation, Junpei entirely wasn't.

Deep in Junpei's mind, he thought that he probably shouldn't have been up so late power leveling his character in that online game he just started on last Friday. He thought of showing it to Minako, but he was too absorbed that he totally forgot. Minako had already gone out before he could jump out of the comfort of his bed, so he had to wait for her to come back before he could tell her.

Yukari wasn't around, and he was_ not_ going to try and look for her. As much fun as it would bring him to annoy her, being shooed away like a poor dog for_ every_ single time he would try to talk to her hurt his manly ego. She hurt him _too much_ on a daily basis so he'd rather steer clear of her for as much as he could, no matter how much he tries to convince himself thathe was used to her. Her irritated gestures openly jabbed towards him still made him feel... not-so-warm inside.

Circumstances led him to where he was now, so Junpei really didn't have much of a choice, even if it sounded unquestionably _unromantic_ at best, and _gay _at worst. He was stuck with _the boy_ that almost _every_ girl—yes even those nice, but old ladies, as long as they were biologically female, it seemed—would get the 'hots' for.

The self-proclaimed ladies' man, Iori Junpei, had the _whole_ Iwatodai Dormitory _and _Akihiko Sanada_ all_ to himself.

...

Ugh.

...

Just...

"Urgh..." Junpei winced.

He promised to himself that he would_ never_ swing that way, and he planned to keep it until the day of his last breath.

Suddenly—**DING!**

A nonexistent light bulb lit above Junpei's head.

Maybe if he spent more time hanging out with Gekkoukan's heartthrob, half of the suave charm would rub on him? And _maybe, _just _maybe_, it would work better than Chagall's Pheromone Coffee—not that he ever thought of trying that out though! Oh no, Junpei Iori _did not, do not, will not _cheat.

"Iori?"

It took Junpei a few more moments before he registered that Akihiko called his attention. The junior blinked. Somehow, he felt like opening up his start menu and save his game, but he knew that wouldn't work. Life didn't have a menu, and it definitely didn't have any dramatic dialogue or warning before you'd come to encounter a possibly awkward or difficult situation.

"Yeah senpai?" Besides, life wasn't a game.

"Well..." Akihiko paused, seemingly in thought of what to say and how he was supposed to say it. "How is Arisato?"

Since he was going to live with Prince Charming, Junpei initially viewed it as an opportunity to learn the... _other _way(s) of being suave—repeat, _other way(s)_—because he totally had his _own_ and _effective_ way! He merely thought that it would be awesome to know something he didn't, and that was all there was to it.

He even prepared a list of things that he was going to ask the senior before he moved into the dorm—of which was mainly about girls—but to his amazement, Akihiko just stared at him with a look that clearly said _'what are you talking about?', _as if the cap-wearing joker was some alien popping out of nowhere.

_'Of course_!' Junpei thought. 'A trick to _distract _him!'

Because _maybe _the captain of the boxing club didn't want _other _guys to find out how he was able to lure out such a number of girls, and thus, acted like he knew nothing regarding the matter in order to eliminate any future competition.

'A formidable foe indeed,' Junpei stared at Akihiko from head to toe, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Minako-chan is doing great."

"You two are already that close, huh?"

Junpei merely let out a half-snicker, half-laugh. "She's manly, senpai, and I mean _really _manly."

Akihiko's expression scrunched up into a quizzical look. "Arisato seems feminine to me."

'_Seriously_...?' Junpei paused shortly, a blank look slapped across his face. "I didn't mean it that way, senpai."

Junpei slowly shifted more of his attention from his ramen to the guy seated across him. Where was the senior trying to steer the conversation towards? He had to be careful. Akihiko-senpai was much craftier than he appeared to be. Well, no matter. Junpei could work his way around the heart-breaker's man-trap.

"_Huh?_ Oh, of course, then—"

With a slurp, Junpei gobbled up his noodles before he started to move to the more _crucial _details.

"Oh, right! You haven't seen her fight yet, have ya? _Boy_, she can kick ass!"

"Up close, yeah." Akihiko nodded in agreement. "Also, she's doesn't seem to have any trouble being leader."

Junpei just shrugged.

"Oh, by the way senpai, how many girlfriends have you got already?"

Akihiko choked on air.

"..._What?_" Akihiko's features creased as a wide, stupid grin replaced the worry-ridden frown across Junpei's.

"No need to be shy about it, Junpei's no loose-y lips!"

"Huh, _what_ are you saying—?"

At that point, Akihiko probably should've noticed the small difference in the junior's eyes. Maybe if he did, he wouldn't have had to spend half of the day groaning and rubbing his temples because of a 'man-to-man' conversation he was unwillingly dragged into by Iori Junpei.

* * *

**Evening**

**Naganaki Shrine**

A moment ago, Minako was in the pharmacy stocking on supplies for the dormitory. The next she found herself already wandering towards the shrine. She had no actual business to do in the shrine, she thought.

Her gaze swept over the cement steps that lead up. No one stayed around the area at night, and it was unfathomable that anyone with ill will would intentionally hang around the shrine. Finding no reason to stay, she continued to wander. She stopped on her third step forward before turning and throwing questioning looks at the stone cold pathway.

It wouldn't entirely hurt to spend a little more time there. Besides, she didn't feel like going back to the dorm just yet. She gave in to the idea of making a short visit, and dragged her unwilling feet to climb the gravel steps. With each, she was reminded of the walks she had with Koromaru.

She loved the walks, even if they only went to the shrine. Sometimes, someone would join them, and it was the conversations they had, both the sad ones and the happy ones, that she kept in her heart. Thinking of how she spent her time made her wonder how everything could've been different (she dare not say 'better') if she knew then what she knew _now_.

"Ah.." Minako huffed, reminding her that her body had not yet caught up with her mind.

She hadn't had any decent sleep, and it was a surprise that she hadn't passed out yet. Despite having grown used to fighting against Shadows, the body she had now wasn't the body with her battle tactics and knowledge, and it made the slightest movement for her something so painful.

Indeed, the shrine was empty and comfortably tranquil when she finally reached the top. Only the soothing rustling of the leaves in the cool gentle breeze was there to listen to, to be felt, and she finally realized that it was cold. It nipped at her skin, not quite as harsh as the bites that winter gave her. She immediately regretted the fact that she did not bring a scarf along.

Freezing to death or not, it didn't hinder Minako from taking the scenery of the quiet place of worship as beautiful. It had its own elegant charm even if it wasn't as refreshing as the view at the school rooftop, or as lively as the fulgurant lights that covered Paulownia Mall.

Minako used the opportunity to offer her silent prayers. One for the safety of the SEES members and the other, for her family.

"Mom, dad, I'm okay."

She hadn't visited them yet, and the first time she did was five years after the incident. Those had been five years of being passed around relatives who didn't want her. She didn't want to face her parents with a crying face, because they always cried with her. A grown pair of adults, crying like children, it would've been a funny sight.

"I'm... I still live in the dorm. With my friends." She had the smile they taught her to always wear. "They're all very kind people."

"They're all special, they don't kn—I...I love them. I love them a lot." She let out a weak, raspy laugh. "I am very lucky to have them."

Talking about the people in SEES came so naturally to her, much like her honed fighting reflexes, that it was almost scary. It had been so long since forgetting her homework and failing her subjects were the greatest of her worries.

Back then, she could stay up all night on a Friday and she wouldn't have to worry about creatures lurking around the streets after midnight. She only worried about her aunt's mood swings in her father's empty ancestral house. Back then, she only had to sit in the classroom and wait until it was time for dismissal. She didn't have to worry about anyone else but herself. She used to _not _have a weapon easily accessible in her room, and once upon a time, she was anything _but _the outgoing spirit everyone now knew.

Minako took a deep breath, almost forgetting but not really minding that she was almost shivering. That night was the only night she has had to herself, and that night was the night that she finally had the time to actually let everything settle in her mind.

An entire year, a _lifetime'_s worth of memories was what the 'rewind' gave her. She could now look the overwhelming worry straight in the eyes. She had ignored it long enough, had tried to deny its existence since she had woken up in the hospital. It nibbled the back of her mind, every single day.

Being alive with full knowledge of what she was supposed to be—the Great Seal, forever, made her feel like falling apart. The lives of important people—the people she and her friends cared about were at stake, they were in her hands. She had no choice but to live with that in mind, with the intangible weight of all their futures crushing her shoulders.

She told Igor that she was going to change the future, but _how?_ How could she even ensure that this time, she could really save all of them? How can anyone possibly fight against _destiny_? Was she even supposed to fight against it?

_No._

Minako shook her head and fought the crystal beads that were starting to form in the corner of her eyes. She wasn't going to let fear get the best of her. She had to be firm.

She had countless reasons to smile, to look forward to the finite tomorrows she had. She was going to take the fact that being able to breathe at that very moment as a big miracle—a magnanimous second chance.

Shinjiro, Chidori, Mr. Kirijo—everyone else that she failed to save before were alive again. They're all somewhere out there, alive. No one was going to cry. She _wasn't_ going to let _anyone_ die.

Finally beating the negativity off, Minako looked up. She stared at the stars that looked like little precious diamonds, lighting up the elegant, dark carpet that was called the night sky. Inwardly, she smiled when she caught sight of the Gemini constellation.

It had always been the easiest for her to recognize.

"_Keep smiling. Yeah... just like that."_

Later, she realized that the moon was dangling in a way that it looked like it had a smile of its own.

"_Don't ever cry, got it?"_

"Yeah," She chuckled to herself and the moon. "Got it."

* * *

**4/28 – Tu**

**After School**

**Chagall Cafe**

Yesterday was the day that Minako was invited into the Student Council by Mitsuru, making heads turn, and a few pair of eyes to narrow.

Of course, Minako had accepted.

Everyone was in the lounge when she got back, with Yukari's presence being most noticeable with her frown.

'Kirijo-senpai,' Minako thought. 'Right.'

Minako knew how the littlest of things would persist to nag Yukari's mind, and how she would most often times just refuse to voice it all out.

"Minacchan!" Junpei immediately clung to her, wailing about guys and her number and awkward questions that he swore he'd rather not hear again, _ever_.

After ranting about the male population's unfair treatment towards him, Junpei dragged Minako to a corner to voice out his worries about joining the Student Council. Yukari finally approached her after Junpei left (he was grinning while saying he had someone to 'report' to, Minako thought that he was talking about his guild mates).

The two girls raised their brows at him as he scooted off with much energy, then the archer sighed softly. Yukari worried that Student Council might be too much for Minako. How would she juggle fighting Shadows, and living like a normal high school student?

Minako recalled how Yukari earned her nickname, 'Yukamama'.

"I'm glad that you joined us," Yukari smiled, and the 'Lovers' arcana flash in Minako's mind. "I'm glad I've got someone to talk to now."

"I'd go crazy if I had to spend another month just Mitsuru-senpai and Sanada-senpai. _Oh god_, I was better off talking to the walls than Sanada-senpai, but don't tell okay?" The redhead felt tempted to chuckle at the last part of the comment, but decided that it was unfair for the person who was not there.

"But never mind that," Minako just blinked as the archer's smile appeared to change into something... well, different. "I heard that a guy from class 2-E has his eyes on you."

"Huh...?"

"The one Junpei was talking about! Wait, _don't_ tell me you haven't seen him yet. Come on, he _always _sits near you during the ceremonies!"

Minako struggled with her expressions, she honestly hadn't noticed the said guy. She lifted her cup of coffee to her lips, only half-minding Yukari as she continued to bombard her with unfamiliar names of male students.

"Shin-senpai from 3-A has quite a face." The mention of 'Shin' caught the naginata wielder off-guard, almost making her breath the same time she took a sip of her drink.

It wasn't wise to flat-out-right tell Yukari that she really didn't have any interest in the guys from Gekkoukan. She didn't feel like telling anyone at the moment, that and the fact that Yukari and Junpei were her parents reincarnated when they first learned about Shinji.

"He_ totally_ has that tall, dark, and handsome thing going. Totally in contrast to Sanada-senpai's—" Yukari abruptly stopped.

The SEES leader blinked. "What is it?"

The archer tilted her head to the side and squinted at something behind Minako, who had a big question mark on her face. Curious, she decided to follow where Yukari's chocolate brown gaze lead to and looked through the glass behind her to catch a glimpse of the all-too-familiar snowy hair of Akihiko standing by the fountain.

Akihiko was scanning around the area speedily, as if he just got away from his very affectionate(ly obnoxious) fan girls.

"He does that often." Yukari shrugged. "He'd stand there and head off somewhere after a while. I don't know if it's a routine of his, but he practically does the same thing every time."

True enough, Akihiko had already disappeared in the five-minute span of Minako finishing her drink. She didn't notice him at all.

"I followed him once, and I ended up in the station." Yukari added, putting down her now empty cup. "I honestly don't know what he does there."

"The station huh..." Minako nodded absent-mindedly.

'There's nothing to see around the station,'She thought. 'The Strip Mall...?'

"But seriously, I _still _manage to come back earlier than him." Yukari added with a sort-of 'mehh' tone.

"_I_ bet he's got a secret girlfriend, but they can't go on dates because of his fanclub." The archer smirked a lady smirk. "What do you think?"

"What do _I _think...?" Minako blinked. "About him having a girlfriend?"

Yukari nodded.

"Well, he's..." Minako started but soon closed her mouth. What was she going to say, anyway? She could not think of Akihiko now without thinking of Sh—

"Minako?" Yukari broke off the silence that Minako dragged in, but it appeared that attempts of drawing the naginata-wielder's attention only drowned out.

Takeba Yukari's arrows weren't the only things that were sharp.

She noticed things that most people didn't, but merely chose to pay them no mind. Those little gestures that people subconsciously made, their tiny habits when conversing, they always gave her an idea of how other people's minds worked, and how she could possibly respond. She had to, if she wanted to keep people at a safe distance.

That used to be her case, anyway.

"Oh!" The transfer student blinked.

"Aha, sorry. Ready to go?" Even if Minako smiled, her eyes didn't.

Arisato Minako had the brightest smile, but despite that, it also seemed that she had the loneliest.

* * *

**Dark Hour**

**Tartarus**

**Thebel**

"Watch it, Junpei!" Yukari had barely dodged as the mentioned jock swung his blade with comparably less grace and killed one of the two Muttering Tiaras that spawned not too long ago.

Junpei on the other hand, seemed not to hear Yukari, and was triumphantly grinning from ear to ear. "Did ya _see_ that? Did ya, did ya?"

_"Behind you—!"_

Now, both girls would have had a say at that if only one of them wasn't so busy shooting arrows at the Cowardly Mayas making an attempt to lunge at the currently gloating swordsman.

"Nice, Yuka-tan!" Junpei gave her a thumbs-up and a toothy grin, absolutely oblivious to the fact that he was the source of her anxiety.

Yukari just shot him a poisonous glare in return.

"Can't he pick a_ better_ time to get his ego stroked?"

"There, there!" Minako let out a heartfelt giggle.

Yukari had killed off all the shadows just by merely watching Junpei's back.

"Good job, guys!"

The field leader smiled as Yukari only sighed. Junpei had gone off again on his own, away from their group of three.

Minako had given her homeroom classmates their equipment before venturing into the abyss. She had supplied them information sufficient enough to fulfill their curiosity, and to keep unwanted questions out of the window. Personally, how the equipment magically ended up in her closet, she didn't know, but the fact that they were there gave her a great feeling of relief and assurance.

"Let's split up from here."

Yukari looked apprehensive by the order, but still nodded. "Alright."

Minako had already taken into consideration the kinds of shadows they could encounter for Tartarus' first block, and with their current pace, tonight's expedition was bound to go smoothly. The worst that could possibly happen was an encounter with The Reaper if things somehow go terribly wrong.

Minako briefly stopped in her tracks, before speeding off.

_"Hey, guys! I found the stairs! Whaddaya wanna do?"_

"Wait for us, Junpei!"

The order for them to re-group came and Minako was earlier to arrive at the destination. Looking around to find no shadows that may be hiding stealthily by the crooks or corners of the area, the field leader assumed that Junpei had already disposed of them and calmly waited beside the team clown. They took a post by the foot of the staircase until Yukari had caught up with them.

"You didn't have to run," Minako said to an out-of-breath Yukari. "We would've definitely waited for you."

"Yeah Yuka-tan," Junpei added. "Or we could've just fetched you if you happened to run into some nasties—I know I would!"

"_I'm_—" The archer gasped as she stomped forward, with a determined glint in her eyes that intimidated weaker shadows away. "—absolutely fine!"

"Let's go!" She almost roared (in the most effeminate of ways), taking hold of the video-gamer's collar and dragging him with her as she climbed her way up to the next floor.

Junpei's protests of mistreatment were all drowned out. Minako turned on her heels to follow and whipped her head when she thought that she had heard the rattling of chains close by. She didn't stay long enough and immediately headed up to join her party members.

* * *

"This is the tenth floor, right?" Junpei inquired, fixing his cap for it not to get in the way of his eyes.

Minako nodded. There was the familiar, re-occurring floor structure, affirming it.

* * *

_**I detect three shadows from this floor's central area, stay alert.**_

* * *

"Wait!"

"What is it _this_ time, Yuka-tan?"

Yukari shot the only male member of the party a glare. "Can you stop calling me that?"

She hastened to catch up to Minako, who was leading the way. "You... If you start feeling anything—tired or whatever, just let me know, okay?"

The girl with the soft, auburn locks looked at her quizzically before nodding.

"Okay." Was the plain response she received, and the archer reluctantly settled with only that.

"Oh girls, _girls_! The _drama_, please! Let's not turn this adventure into a soap, okay?" Minako pretended to roll her eyes at her best friend while the archer and healer of the team sharply jabbed an elbow to his ribs.

"Are we going to do this or not?"

"We are!"

"_You _go lead the way then, _Stupei_."

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Junpei piped up and positioned himself into a 'ready!' stance, and there, Masakado's Katana gleamed proudly in his grasp.

He walked ahead to claim his place up front as seriously as he could, with such a determined look that sent funny, restrained giggles down his female classmates.

"Get ready to see just how _awesome _Junpei Iori is!"

"Yeah, right." Yukari scoffed, but didn't stop herself from running to catch up to the baseball-cap wearing idiot, just in case he stumbled across some shadows before a fight even commenced and _only _for that reason that she was doing so.

The silhouette of the previously mentioned shadows caught their attentions entirely. Although the knowledge that these aforementioned ones didn't completely pose a big threat, they were still wary. The SEES members exchanged glances among them.

"Ready, guys?" Junpei asked in a whisper, earning himself a look courtesy of Yukari Takeba once again.

He absent-mindedly scratched the back of his head. "Oh! Uh... I mean, girls."

Brief pause.

"Bah, ruined the moment."

Minako let out a tiny giggle.

"Whatever," Yukari once again rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

"Roger that," The field leader nodded.

"Okay, after go then..." Junpei gave Yukari a blank look, only for the other to return it with a more aggressive one.

The one with the rufescent-hued eyes let out a soft sigh. "Come on now, everyone get ready."

_"In 3..."_

The form of immense, gloved hands came clearer into view with each cautious step that they took. They heard someone take in a generous gulp of air.

_"2..."_

Junpei mentally winced, mouthing 'what the hell, those things are_ pink_...' to the two girls with an incredulous look sprawled across his face.

Minako shrugged, not really minding if a shadow turned out to be rainbow-colored or something that looked like Ikutsuki-in-a-maid-suit monstrosity. Yukari merely stared at him blankly for once that night, despite having the urge to snap back.

'Shut up, please?' the archer mouthed back at the heavy swordsman, who put up a playful pout. Minako held up a finger to her lips, requesting for silence. The other juniors need not to be told what to do after that and readied themselves to commence in combat.

_"1..."_

The shadows watched them with empty gazes. The Magician masks embedded on them bobbed and curiously stared. They were waiting for the trio to make the first move, observing. Knowing, expecting, and as if daring that any of them step forward.

* * *

_**I know you can do this.**_

_**Good luck, stay focused.**_

* * *

Mitsuru watched as Akihiko fumbled with the jacket that was thrown over his shoulder _not _for the first time. That much could be assured. It was unusual for him to look so anxious. To try to even _hide_ that he was anxious, despite it being written all over his face.

The Kirijo heiress had already got him memorized, like a mother to her newly adolescent son. He was amusing to observe, because there were not much that could get this undisputed boxing champ to feel like so. When he thought that she was paying him no mind, Akihiko sighed.

Of course, Mitsuru knew that Akihiko Sanada was also a man of pride, so she never interfered or pressed him about his issues. He was not foolish, and she knew he would ask if he needed the help. She let him keep things to himself, because that was for the best.

"Akihiko," He looked at her passively, but she did not fail to see through it to find a gaze full of uncertainty now directed at her. "You're not in the ring for you to be so uptight."

"No one is being uptight here, Mitsuru."

As if in an attempt to prove her wrong, that he was anything but uptight, Akihiko appeared to brush off what she had just mentioned coolly. He was the first to break of their locked gazes to secure the gloves that wrapped tightly around his hands. Seriously, he didn't even know what he was feeling weird for.

Mitsuru found the gesture too common, making her assume that the boxer himself probably was not aware that he was rather perplexed. She was already aware of most of his habits.

Perhaps it was the absence of the thrill he always felt when midnight struck. The pugilist had already been too used to combat, and by making him sit in the sidelines, she had taken a part of him away even if it was only temporary. Mitsuru could understand that, for someone like him, who found the rush of adrenaline and the motivation to keep getting stronger his top priority, it was not the easiest thing to do.

That couldn't be entirely the case, though, because since the number of their members had gone up to five, Akihiko had found a new way to keep him entertained.

"Only twenty eight minutes left before the Dark Hour ends." Mitsuru swept her rufescent gaze up to the only clock that worked during the Dark Hour.

No, she was not in the slightest bit anxious. She knew well enough that the exploration team could be left alone, and be fine. She had faith that Arisato would do a rather good job as the field leader of the now improved SEES, but she would not dare leave them alone, if she could.

"They sure are taking their time, aren't they?"

Mitsuru could tell that the girl have had her fair share of fights, probably even more than she had anticipated. Arisato seemed to know which commands to give out in order to fully make use of the strengths and weaknesses of her teammates. Possibly, she have had received naginata training and combat experience too while she was younger, for her movements flowed so well and her expertise in using her Personas melded beautifully together.

"Yes."

Minako Arisato was versatile. She had so much potential because of her unique ability; one that Mitsuru had never thought that it was possible to wield multiple Personas at once. It enabled this new transfer student to make up for the things the team lacked, or rather, had to greatly improve. Arisato could either focus on support or go on offensive, possibly even both. Even brilliantly at the same time.

_"Yo, guess who's back!"_

Mitsuru dismissed her thoughts for some other time as the terminal emitted a bright emerald light before everything drowned in white.

"You've all done well." She said to them. Words of appreciation, she had come to know, performed many wonders.

"It was a piece of cake!" Junpei greeted with a wide, gleeful grin, followed by a shrug and a look directed at the archer who stood beside their leader.

"Yuka-tan was all naggy, but she'd always been like that, so I gue—"

Yukari stomped her foot and grunted in disbelief and disapproval.

"I wouldn't be so _naggy _if you stop giving me _reasons _to be so naggy, _Stupei._"

Junpei's eyes narrowed slightly. "_Stop _calling me that!"

"Guys.." Akihiko sighed softly.

He had the feeling that he had to get used to the two's bickering now than after he would come back to the front line. They were rejuvenating, their lot, except for the times that they behaved so obnoxiously. Things could turn out comparably worse than those rabid fangirls' deafening screeches of his name, _and _to think that he had to actually _live _with these two, he already had no idea about how he'd handle it all.

"Now, now, all we need is a good night's sleep!" He watched as Arisato emerged from his side with that soothing smile of hers.

She stepped in between her two friends, trying to maintain the fine line of 'being okay' as long as they were concerned.

Mitsuru nodded in agreement.

"Arisato is right, we should all head back now for some sleep. After all, we should be prepared for our respective classes for tomorrow."

"_WHAT?_" Junpei couldn't help but automatically cut in.

"Woah, _woah, _you've _got _to be kidding me!" The dread was clearly evident on his face.

"I'm practically dying! It'd already be a humongous miracle if I can wake up for class tomorrow!"

"For one who is on the verge of 'dying', your mouth is quite lively, is it not, Iori?" The Student Council President sent him a look that delivered a clear message.

Minako ran her hand down her hair, avoiding catching eye contact with either the Empress or the Magician. No, she was not going to leave Junpei behind in his time of need, but everyone knew that nobody would be able to help him at that point.

This was Mitsuru _Kirijo_, after all.

"Tardiness shall not be tolerated. If you wish, you may take a break from any Tartarus explorations, starting tomorrow." The fencer uttered sternly, with that wine-red gaze that bore holes through incompetent fools' souls.

The SEES leader thought that Mitsuru reacting largely to him was similar to the way guardians did, but admittedly, she still wondered why she kept on noticing every little thing that the guy made. The SEES President could be meticulous, especially about academically-related issues, and she knew that.

Minako herself was a witness to how the Empress always made sure that everything was in order during an operation. Junpei, on the other hand, was nowhere near the word 'organized' at all, and his seemingly carefree facade always, at one point, made the rest worry.

Minako lowered her own gaze to admire the floor's elegant pattern. She was starting to think of how she could possibly respond to her best friend later when they get home, or tomorrow at school, without stirring up the wrong ideas about the senior.

"Hey."

A tap fell on the field leader's shoulder.

"I think they would still take a while, you think we can go ahead of them?" Yukari piped, directing a glance at the team's joker and president.

"I'm not so sure," Minako innocently shrugged, she had no idea if a lecture about the importance of education from Mitsuru could end so soon.

She sent a look towards Junpei. "He'd be complaining later if we suddenly disappear and leave him with Mitsuru-senpai, you know."

"Who, Junpei?" The archer raised a fine brow, her arms already crossed.

She breathed heavily before letting out a groan. "_Oh come on_, he'll be fine."

Yukari had always been irritable of Junpei, but Minako understood that the girl was dead tired, fatigued, and simply sleepy. Her eyes were trying too hard to maintain a glare. And it was not only her, actually. The break was essential. Before they could even reach the dorm, the three of them would definitely already be asleep.

Minako decided that it would indeed be best that they postpone the explorations for next week, whether Mitsuru pulled Junpei out temporarily or not.

"No! No, no, it's okay." The mentioned junior raised his hands up, as if surrendering. "I just remembered that I have to... uh, see Ekoda for... some... educational... thing."

"I see. Then I hope it goes well, Iori. Now everyone, let us all go."

Junpei sighed in defeat.

Minako nodded, double-checking all of their stuff to see if nothing was going to be left behind. The corner of her eye caught sight of the blue glow that was the door to the Velvet Room, striking her that she had not yet retrieved the rest of her Personas. She had brought along those with the greater capabilities to heal, figuring that she wouldn't need to focus much on offensive, not as of late anyway. Besides, she could do it tomorrow and use the path at the back alley of Paulownia Mall, but that meant that she'd have to go to and fro Gekkoukan.

Sighing, Minako decided that getting her Personas now would decrease the running she would have to do tomorrow. Mitsuru didn't mind her staying behind, it seemed, so the field leader took it as a sign of permission before she bid her two classmates goodnight.

Yukari didn't ask any unnecessary questions, and Minako could see that the archer was just too tired, although she did have that look whenever Junpei uttered an innuendo, the one she had whenever she found someone or something suspicious. The archer eventually sighed and returned the goodnight before she followed the Kirijo princess out of the abyss.

Junpei, who was asked to carry the other stuff the girls couldn't, was sober enough to wonder why, and inquired if Minako had any plans of sticking around Tartarus longer for whatever reason, only to have Mitsuru once again call his attention and thus, was forced to go ahead without hearing the answer to his inquiry.

"What are you still doing he—?"

A gloved hand landed on Minako's shoulder, jolting the SEES leader's reflexes awake. Minako, whose current sanity and system didn't quite work as well as it should have at the time, drew a sharp breath.

Without hesitation, she took hold of the hand and grabbed the slender arm. Her reaction came so fast that by the time she had realized that what she had laid her hands on was anything _but _a Shadow, she had already pulled and thrown whoever the owner of the arm was across the floor.

"_O-o_h Kami—!"

Minako closed her eyes shut and covered her eyes with her hands as a short string of incomprehensible words dangled the air. She gulped nervously and cracked one of her eyes open, peeking through her hands to have her suspicions of her poor victim's identity confirmed.

"I—really, _s-senpai_—!"

Instantly she dashed her way to the other side of the entrance where Akihiko coughed and grumbled pained groans.

"What...what was that...just now?" Akihiko's voice was hoarse as he huffed.

His back had just been slammed flat, and there was numbness in his arms. For how long, it didn't matter, because his ears were ringing and his vision was blurring. He wasn't even sure what did. He felt like he had just been used as a cannonball.

"Ugh..."

"I-I, no, no what do I—please, oh Kami _please _be okay—"

The boxer would have considered the sight before him comforting, at least that gave him an idea why he felt he had just been literally swept off the ground, and just who proved it to even be possible.

"I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't—"

The amazing Minako Arisato was now practically fumbling through all of her Personas and switching among them to use each and every curative spell they all had, as if she was desperately tossing and catching daggers while juggling balls.

"How...?"

After several glimpses of elegant deities and persistent stuttering of apologies scattered here and there, Akihiko found himself already feeling better, like nothing ever happened at all.

"I used stronger spells than Dia, if...that's what you mean..."

An awkward silence hugged the air for a few moments, and the pugilist helped himself to at least a comfortable position on the cold floor.

"...I'm sorry." His auburn-haired junior sat stiffly with her legs folded the traditional way, her head sunk lower than it usually did. "Really, I...I didn't mean to do that."

"Arisato."

Akihiko actually put a great effort to reach into his mind, possibly for a response, but miserably failed. Yes, of course he could just say 'no it's okay now let's go back' and whatever this uneasy pressure was, it would go away.

"I've—" He winced. "—been hit harder."

He could've been angry right at that moment if he wanted—if he just chose to be. He was hurt, after all, and in front of him was the girl that made him think, _hard_, if he was actually doing something socially wrong. The one that almost got his _other _and _only _un-injured arm broken too.

He could've just blurted out everything that he had been wondering about up until now, poured out every single thing just to get it all out of his chest. He could've upped and flat-out-right tell their new recruit exactly how he felt about being avoided and stared anxiously at (like he _wasn't good enough_), and all would then be fine and dandy.

But, the decision not to was his as well.

"Still, I did something improper."

He sighed, the owner of the blob of dark, coppery red locks in front of him refused to move at all. Akihiko's lips curved into a little frown. What was he supposed to do for times like this? He was so used to receiving apologies, and having things turn out okay moments later.

"You already said sorry, didn't you?" He watched her give him a small, slow nod.

He rubbed his temple tiredly, he didn't know how to deal with beings—_girls_, rather, other than Mitsuru.

"Arisato look, I'm _fine_, aren't I?"

Minako tilted her head up to meet his smoky gaze with hers, wearing what seemed like a frown. To her, anyway, because to him, it appeared more like a childish pout.

"I'll make it up to you."

"Hm..?" Akihiko blinked. "And..._how_ would you do that?"

"_I_—" It was the field leader's turn to return the gesture. "Well...I'll think of _something_."

"Well, you _don't_ have to."

The senior stood, extending his hand out to her to help her up. "Come on, you wouldn't want Mitsuru lecturing us tomorrow for tardiness, believe me."

"But I _want _to," She countered, accepting his hand but refusing to move from her current position. "Make it up to you, I mean."

They suddenly found themselves as participants of a short staring contest. Their gazes locked, one more uncertain than the bold other, but both as stubborn to rip away. Convinced that it was of nonsense and would only delay their arrival, Akihiko admitted defeat, and before he could lay his eyes on the smile that was to brightly grace Minako's features, he lifted her off the ground albeit much, _much _more gently than how she did with him.

He disregarded her little squeaks that she called protests and proceeded to carry her out like a little kid, thinking that she could do no or least bodily harm that way and they would get to the dorm faster.

"Arisato?"

Silence.

"Iori... He...mentioned something—_"_

_'Something about you being manly. What exactly did he mean by that..?' _He mentally slapped himself for even coming up with that ridiculous question.

She had become her usual silent self again. Perhaps the girl had given up and surrendered to him?

"Hey, Arisato?"

It was not until they had finally arrived at the dormitory that he discovered that the girl had fallen asleep on him, with a grinning Junpei and a not-so-amused Mitsuru to welcome them.

* * *

**4/29 – We**

**Evening**

**Port Island Station Outskirts**

"So, _that's_ what happened..."

Minako opened a can of Super Cat Food as she spoke, holding out a pet dish she bought last Friday. She emptied the can's contents into it before placing it in front of the black-and-brown-spotted white feline patiently that waited in front of her.

"Really, I'm sorry I couldn't bring you food last night."

"I promise I'll come tomorrow, though! And the next day after."

Minako smiled.

It was late, and she might get a scolding. _P__robably, _but she thought that she could worry about that _later_. She cocked her head to the side, as if to give assurance to the independent animal that she was as harmless as she appeared to be.

"I'll keep visiting until you get better, okay?"

The cat's pair of incandescent eyes watched her curiously, as if asking her why she was bothering herself. It let out a soft mew and approached the dish, eyes fixed on the weird girl even as it dipped its head to indulge in the offered meal.

As soon as it appeared that her work was done, Minako stood and retrieved her bag, which she placed not really far apart from her and bid her furry friend goodbye. It watched her curiously as she made her leave, probably with a gentle arched brow if cats ever managed to grow a pair. Of eyebrows.

Footsteps shuffled lightly, and a form emerged from the poorly lit part of the alley holding a small, brown paper bag. The cat mewed again, acknowledging the familiar presence it had grown used to seeing out in the streets and swayed her tail languidly.

"Who..?"

The newcomer gruffed, his pair of eyes landing on the half-eaten cat food in the pet dish placed on the ground. He shoved one hand in one of his pockets and stared at the direction the earlier footsteps had disappeared into.

"Huh, again?" He probably didn't have to worry about the possibility of the cat starving to death for a few days.

Glancing back down at the paper bag he was holding with his other hand, he turned to the cat that rubbed against the hem of his pants rather affectionately.

"Hey hey, we don't want you choking on this stuff, now."

* * *

**End of chapter.**

How'd all your Christmas celebrations go? I hope you all had fun!

So with everything else done, let me greet a** HAPPPY NEW YEAR **to all! Don't forget to leave a review! Hope to see you in the next update.


	4. Track 3: Sarara

**Warnings: Unbeta'd**, so beware of grammar errors and typos.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series, nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. All rights belong to Atlus.

* * *

Even though I'm wrapped in a thick blanket,  
I miss your warmth.  
I won't love ever again.

* * *

**Loading...**

**TRACK 3**

* * *

**5/1 – Fr**

**After School**

**Gekkoukan High School**

"Maybe it's more like you don't have extracurricular activities." Yukari scoffed.

"Even Akihiko-senpai's aware just how—"

"H-Hey, I resent that." Junpei cut in, wincing at how Yukari _called _him a 'slacker'.

He peered through the open doors of their classroom to look at Minako, who kept herself busy with...something, also just for the sake of ignoring Miss Popular.

Although he told himself that he wasn't going to let the archer get the best of him, her usual snarky comments about him still seeped through his skin. Sometimes he wondered why Yukari noticed every little 'lame' thing that he did.

Was she developing a_ crush_ on the awesome him, perhaps? He could not help but grin to himself.

"I was just kidding," Yukari let out a small laugh, clearly missing the questionable curve gracing her classmate's lips.

"I'm free today, so I'll go with you." She added before going inside the classroom to join their field leader in fixing her things.

Admittedly, Junpei was a little happier once the archer left him alone.

"Do you need help with those?" Yukari approached.

Minako shook her head and smiled at the offer. "It's okay, I can handle this."

"Okay," Yukari replied, taking the seat beside her.

"I'll wait for you then."

She insisted when Minako sharply turned, to say that Yukari didn't have to.

"Junpei got to hang out with you yesterday." The way she said must've sounded off, because their male classmates who heard her sent them looks as they walked out of the room.

Yukari ignored them.

"Well..." Minako was defeated.

"Okay then," She nodded before diving back into her things again. "Sorry to delay you, just give me a minute."

"Seriously, Minako," Yukari sighed. "No need to say sorry every now and then, you've done nothing wrong for you to apologize so often!"

"I'm—" The archer quickly silenced her with her own look before she could even utter the now-forbidden words. "O-okay."

Minako had brought additional baggage with her today, but she hadn't mentioned anything to them about it. Yukari watched curiously as the transferee hovered over what looked like a paper bag. It wasn't that big, but it definitely wasn't small either.

Minako meticulously checked whether its contents were still okay before she dipped her hand in the bag. Yukari found the way the latter's face lit up as interesting, as Minako successfully brought out a hand-made box, adorned with a small, pink ribbon.

"Finally!" Minako mused and placed the box on Yukari's lap.

"That's for you, Yukari." Minako had said to her, beaming.

"I put strawberry for yours and—I wasn't so sure if I should've used chocolate syrup, but..." she smiled sheepishly.

"Uhm, well... I'm not so sure if it meets your standards, but I hope you like it!"

The archer stared at the box in her possession, her ears deaf to the field leader's amusing babble about her encounter with the rarely used dorm kitchen. The sudden act made her feel unsure, surprised, a little awkward, and... normal. She'd not been given gifts for a long time.

She didn't have anyone she considered close to her, so when Minako poked her head into the aesthetic world of popularity and through the wall of indifference she had built for herself, she was wary. She didn't let the barriers down for_ just anyone_, and she pierced a deadly arrow through anyone who dared to force through.

Because Yukari didn't need anyone else when she could trust herself.

Approaching her was like taking home a puppy or kitten, and introducing it to an inexperienced child, who _may _or _may not _adjust warmly to it. Except that Yukari was no child, nor was Minako a little pup.

But that didn't entirely mean Yukari knew better.

* * *

**5/1 – Fr**

**After School**

**Tatsumi Memorial Hospital**

Minako laughed at the contorted marvel that was Junpei's awed face the moment she gave him his box.

"_Man_!"

Yukari peeked inside the similar-looking box. Her chocolate gaze stared heavily on the goofy-looking crepes that rested innocently in it as opposed to her simply more elegant ones.

The designs were so—frustratingly—_Junpei_, in the most Japanese-_emoticon _of ways. How absolutely ingenious, she had thought, but _that _didn't mean that Yukari was _any bit less_ proud of _hers._

_Nuh-uh_, because Junpei's pairs weren't decorated in a way that two made a heart.

"And here I thought _you _were planning something _without_ me—because _seriously! _I mean, who _doesn't _get out of the classroom for lunch break?" The stubbled teen said, shuffling in his bag for the class roster Akihiko asked him to bring.

"Ugh, where'd I put—aha!"

"You know I'd _never_!" Minako smiled before pointing out the oh-so-slightly creased roster.

"Ne, you should really keep things like that in a folder!"

"Where'd you get that anyway?" Yukari piped in, to which Junpei merely grinned.

"Loser."

"Yeow!"

He may have gotten what the boxing senior wanted, but it could've helped if he thought of putting it neatly somewhere, Yukari noted. Also, Minako brought the paper bag along, making the archer wonder just how many people the SEES leader planned on giving away some of her creations to.

She hadn't at all noticed Minako stepping into the kitchen yesterday, last night, or—or—scratch that, she _never _noticed her walk around in the dorm anyway, for that matter. Did she also give some to the volleyball club? And to _every other_ organization she currently was a member of?

Mitsuru herself saw Minako's potential, not only in the intellectual aspect. Minako was friendly, boosting her initial popularity even more, and Yukari personally wasn't going to be surprised if the boys had already formed a fan-club. Yukari wasn't even sure if the girl herself knew, but there was _no way _Minako could act so well, even if she somehow did know.

"We're here." Minako pointed out.

"_Well_?" Yukari raised a fine lady brow at Junpei when he just stared. "What are _you_ waiting for?"

* * *

Junpei knocked_—twice,_ so Akihiko-senpai wouldn't have an excuse that he _didn't_ hear the first—before he went and opened the door.

He dipped his head in the crack and looked around.

'It's, _uh_, room's hella cold, _ahaha.._.' He intended to say—joke, even, but nothing came out, and he was forcibly shoved inside (courtesy of dear Yukari).

"Uh," He reflexively gulped. "Is... Akihiko-senpai..."

Though he tried to keep his grin up, it was abruptly wiped off of his face when his field of vision bumped with someone else's.

And it was definitely _not _Akihiko-senpai.

"In this room... by any chance?" The last word came out in a indignant squeak.

Whoever it was, Junpei felt small under his scrutinizing gaze. It was clear that the person—the stranger—dude—_person_—didn't look too happy with the visit.

The man seated across him remained silent. The scowl carved on his face did not move, but it managed to intimidate the younger male even more. The ashen gaze _dared _him to stay in the room for five more seconds.

The memories of last night flooded Junpei's mind, when he had stumbled upon an educational show—about animals. Junpei just _knew _that the stranger was just searching—waiting for him to give a reason to go nuts on him. Now he knew how sad little cornered animals felt—before they met their fate. How could _anyone _let a kid watch a show with lions pouncing on innocent deers?!

"Huh?" The smooth voice of the missing senior invaded the capped-junior's ears. "What are you _all_ doing here?"

"Akihiko-senpai!" Junpei snapped out of his self-consciousness.

_"You're not dead!"_ He dived to give the senior a warm, (and overly) grateful embrace, only to be shoved aside by Yukari.

"Dead?" Akihiko frowned. _"Me?_"

"_Anyway_, we came to see you!" Yukari told Akihiko, who had a puzzled look scrawled all over his face.

The archer cocked her head to the side as she examined him from head to toe. "It doesn't look like anything's wrong with you though, senpai."

The Gekkoukan Prince nodded, before letting his lips curve into a small smile. "I'm just here for a check-up."

* * *

While everyone else seemed to be busy minding their own, Minako on the other hand, was... stuck.

No.

_Preoccupied_, rather.

If it hadn't been for Yukari, who pulled her into the room after she shoved Junpei in to make way, she would have never moved from her spot in the hallway. She was grateful, but now she didn't have Yukari by her side. She didn't have _anyone_.

Minako had practiced in front of her mirror so many times for this, made a fool out of herself _too _many times for this. She thought that she would be able to handle it, but she realized that _no_, those 'practices' _were not_ enough.

_No_.

It was foolish of her to _even think_ that there existed a way to _truly_ prepare herself, when in fact there was _none._

_He's _right _in front of_ you_._

Kami, how she looked like an idiot. She was staring _too_ much at him, but she did not dare look away; she didn't have the courage to.

She was _too scared to look away_, because if she _was _dreaming then she _didn't_ want to know. She didn't want to wake up only to force herself to sleep through another cold night, _alone._ She didn't want dreams that ended _after_ the world shattered beneath her feet and where the world was painted a dull white.

She _didn't_ want one where Shinjiro slipped _right through_ her hands.

Not until she'd somehow memorized how he looked like, _every_ detail that her memory couldn't grasp onto long enough—_no matter_ how seemingly small or insignificant.

_A blink._

Minako dipped her head in a bow. Her insides twisted in a way that it was funny. _No, _it was funny because _she_ was feeling _funny._

It was all suddenly so unusual.

_A breath._

Only after she was done promising to herself that she was only going to have a glance—_one last _glance and then no more, did she dare to bring her gaze up again.

_A beat._

"_Hey, _you're all red, Mina-chan."

_'Eh?'_

"E_-Eh_?"

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dorm**

"Huh?"

_"What?"_ Akihiko didn't mean to blurt out, but the look on Junpei's face irked him.

Just a _little_ bit.

"Nothing," Junpei shrugged, tearing his gaze away from the funny red box that looked out-of-place after having been placed beside the senior.

He pretended to sigh.

"Just sayin' that you and Minako would look cute together_—yadda yadda yadda._"

"Junpei—" The boxer sensed a migraine slowly creeping up on him. "Arisato is a _teammate_."

The silence that followed was awkward.

"_And..?_" Junpei flicked over the remote control and continued to search for anything that might catch his interest.

"That _doesn't exactly mean_ you can't _like_ a teammate, senpai."

With the jokester bugging him about a nonexistent liking toward their leader, it did not take long for the still-recovering brawler to forget the equation that had been in his head seconds ago, in hopes of finally getting rid of the physics assignment taunting him.

He knew that he should've just stayed locked up in his room—his instinct nagged him to too!—away from the possibility of an Iori Junpei poking fun at his 'inability' to read girls. How Akihiko ended up being alone with him in the lounge, he didn't know.

Scratch that, how _did_ he end up providing entertainment and becoming a matchmaking-experiment of the _girlfriend-less_ sidekick?

"I do_ not_ like her."

There.

He finally said it.

"... _Whaddya say_?"

Akihiko shifted his gaze from the neat penmanship written all over his notes, and to the reaction he'd unintentionally stirred in Iori.

"I said—" Junpei's eyes narrowed in a way that the boxer never thought was possible—given that it was _Junpei_, for goodness' sake! "—that I _don't_ like Arisato."

"Are you bein' _tsundere now_ senpai?"

The inner pimp in Junpei shook his head in exasperation. It was definitely one of those times (he just _knew) _when he was going to end up wondering _just what _girls saw in the other male. If he got abs alone of his own, would chicks _really _dig him as_ easy_ as _that_?

'_What_?'

Akihiko decided to do his best to ignore Junpei and his low, mindless grumbles and drowned himself into the mess of diagrams and formulas that awaited him.

Hm?

Wait, did he just hear _Junpei_ call _him_ '_clueless'..._?

"Ya know senpai, I..." Junpei seemed to struggle with his words.

"Uh, I won't really be surprised if you like her—" He chuckled at the senior's sudden need to cough. "In the_ future_, I mean."

"I just think that if she _ever_ gets a boyfriend, and I _know _she _will_, I'd rather it be someone I _actually do _know, you know?"

Akihiko didn't understand why Iori was telling_ him_—of _all _people—all _this_. He could not help but think if, _maybe, _he appeared soft enough—no, _too _soft, for other people to feel so easy that starting a conversation with him seemed like such a good idea.

_Obviously_, the girl refused to spend alone time with him, and he doubted that _that _was going to change anytime soon. Or until he could get better and regain his position in the front line again, at the least.

"Have you met a girl who smiles like that senpai? A girl that just manages to make everything feel... _happier_, do ya know what I mean?"

Akihiko just frowned.

He wasn't the best nor the right person to discuss these kinds of issues with, as he himself didn't want to openly discuss his own (_none_ of them revolved around _girls_, mind you). And, personally, if he had to _honestly_ answer that... the pugilist didn't really... know.

He grew up in an orphanage with his sister and Shinji, and the three of them were lucky_ enough_ that the plump old lady kindly took care of them, plus twenty more unruly kids. The only other girl who was part of his life was Mitsuru, but she was _never_ exactly was the type to make a guy_ feel_ like he was some girl's ideal knight-in-armor.

"I think it's great, having Minacchan around." Akihiko noticed the absence of honorifics among the trio, confirming it as Junpei nudged before shrugging. "She'll be a _great_ training partner for you too, I guess."

"You should _definitely _come with us senpai!" The one with the stubbled chin grinned even before the fair individual could question him about the special 'training' they did whenever they frequented Tartarus.

"Well, after your arm's all better, of course." He added, upon remembering the formidable expression that Mitsuru happened to wear whenever Akihiko's recovery was mentioned.

"I'm sure you'll thank me for it later." The newest member of SEES joked and chuckled.

'Perhaps...' the Gekkoukan Prince thought.

He wasn't going to admit it, but he wanted to get to know the transferee better if only they stopped walking on eggshells around each other. He wanted to know her, who he knew was _more than_ Mitsuru's protegee, and something at the back of his mind raised a gentle, gloved fist in approval.

He feared that if he tried, he probably _might _stumble across something he'd long forgotten. Something he _chose _to forget. And if things don't go well, he would just clam up again. He would trap himself in a way that he could never step outside anymore.

"Hm."

Akihiko hummed softly to himself as his eyes looked at the clock he had already acquainted himself with.

Well, he probably _would try_ and get to know Arisato better, just to prove himself to Iori that... well, he was _wrong, _and that Akihiko was _absolutely _not _entirely _clueless when it came to _girls_.

Arisato had gotten Takeba to loosen up a little, something the senior couple failed to do, given their own stiffly nature. Perhaps the side of him, the part of him that wanted—_yearned _to finally let people in was letting him know that it was time to at least try. That it was okay to now. That he _had_ to try.

_Minako Arisato._

She was still a big question mark to him. Still the nimble and more-than-able enigma who handed him the red, carefully hand-crafted box that sat beside him. It was a box full of funny-looking crepes, accompanied by a small note with a doodled attempt of a bunny in place of a signature.

It was her way of making up to him for hurting his back last time in Tartarus. That was what he understood anyway from all that she had murmured so softly, so that nobody else would hear. It was the simplest thing. No underlying fan girlish intention or hormonal malice towards him at all.

Akihiko Sanada just found a girl who _didn't _squeal and did not make his ears _bleed _every time she was in his presence.

He just found a girl he could utterly be _grateful _for.

_Recover fast, senpai._

_x_

* * *

**5/9 – Sa**

**Dark Hour**

**Iwatodai Dormitory, Command Room**

Tap. Tap.

He had probably walked around the room for fifty four times. He had perhaps sighed for almost a hundred times in the last five minutes. He was more than sure that he had already groaned frustratingly to himself for the eightieth time, too.

There went another.

So... that made eighty-one, right?

"_Kami,_" Akihiko growled, he could not deny the anxiety that boiled up and threatened to escape in him while he waited for the spectacled-adviser. "Where _is _he?"

Once again, he was stuck there. Alone in the command room, alone and forced to stay on the sidelines because of his arm while the wonder trio occupied themselves with what he had grown used to doing for the last couple of years, _yet again_.

Akihiko straightened up and forced himself to calm down. At least he had managed to stay in one place_ this time_, instead of pacing around like a nerve-wrecked babysitter.

'_Trust them,' _Mitsuru had said.

And she_ had_ to realize that he was _trying_.

He was doing his best by not letting the ugly feeling settle in the pit of his stomach and be_ still_, to sit quietly for _them_. He believed that Arisato could handle the role of a leader, and it definitely showed. She did a good job for someone who looked quite the popular girl. He was starting to be convinced that she was the kind to be able to pull a team together.

"_Leave it to me!"_

She was special.

_No_, scratch that, _all _three of them were, but deep inside, they were _still_ the same kids who all lived a normal life _just before_ the start of the school year.

Taking a deep breath and clenching his fist, Akihiko rooted himself in his position. He would wait. He was going to do his part, and he was going to do it well.

The pugilist sighed into the receiver.

He hadn't heard anything from Mitsuru yet, perhaps they've already come across one of 'those' and were now fighting against it. Maybe not so much, he assured himself, as the mental image of the other male SEES member's ridiculous face came into mind.

Junpei's _ridiculous_ grin.

He sighed again.

He was not the least bit comfortable being in such a quiet and spacious room, left to think about all of the possibilities.

* * *

Ikutsuki had finally arrived painfully slow moments later, and wasted no time inquiring about the latest update regarding the shadow activity. Akihiko filled him in with all the information that he had, in addition to what Mitsuru had given him regarding the shadow manipulating the monorail.

Ikutsuki's lips curved downward into a small frown, the screen reflected on his glasses kept the expression of his eyes hidden.

They had no choice but to wait.

The man was so different during daylight, Akihiko observed, and he appreciated how professional the adult was about all of this. It was as if the Ikutsuki that cracked the most... _mind-numbing_ jokes was a whole other individual. There was not a hint of that jester in the man that currently accompanied the boxer.

It was, in a way, unsettling.

_**Fssh—**_

"…"

But however eccentric Ikutsuki acted _didn't_ matter.

"Yes, Akihiko here."

Defeating those monsters did.

_**This is Mitsuru—**_

* * *

**5/10 – Su**

**Morning**

**Velvet Room**

"Will that be all?" Theo inquired, with a smile that would surely win him a formidable number of maiden hearts, comparable to the number of Akihiko's fangirls.

He looked like a prince straight out of a western story book, Minako had only realized.

"Yes," The young lady nodded curtly.

"Thank you." The last thing she wanted at the moment was a Pinocchio-nosed enigma pointing out that she'd been staring too much or_ too long_, after all.

"Here, I shall escort you on your way." Minako inwardly smiled as she got up and prepared to leave.

The Velvet room was one of few quiet places she felt comfortable to stay in, without the silence choking her.

"Ne, Theo?" She paused for a second, her pace slower as she dragged her raspberry-tinted gaze upwards to the doll-like features of the man.

Though his gaze was different, it did not intimidate her as much as it used to anymore.

"Do you—" She breathed and spared a sideward glance, to confirm that Igor indeed cared less about her personal conversation with the other inhabitant. "I mean.."

"Can you remember?" She asked the pale gentleman, whose strange, luminous eyes seemed to glow in comparison to the dark hue of the room.

She was hoping that he did, and a small part of her _begged. _Having the knowledge that someone else besides her remembered everything that 2009 had in store for them was something she was internally hoping for, _yearning, _even.

While she did not spend as much time with Theo, he had a special place in her heart. She could tell him anything, from the funny giggles she got whenever she watched Koromaru be his doggy self, to the awe she felt when she saw how much more powerful Akihiko's punches were after wearing the Mara-fused gloves (she never did understand why Theo looked at her funny when she got the gloves).

He reminded her of Aigis, like her she could tell him about the littlest and the silliest of things, without the nagging worry of being judged.

Minako placed a hand on her chest, a habit out of anxiety that she never really got to fix. Maybe, _surely_, he wouldn't lie to her.

_Would he?_

"...I'm sorry," Theo wore a quizzical expression that still managed to retain the natural elegance that he had been born with. "I'm afraid that I do not understand, Arisato-sama."

"Oh—"

She felt her heart crack under the weight of Thor's hammer.

"Nah..." Minako laughed, scratching the nonexistent itch at the back of her head.

Of... course he didn't. How stupid of her to think that he did. She felt much more stupid for even letting a little 'maybe' get her hopes up.

Besides, her Theo _never_ called her by her last name.

"That's okay!" She had learned to effortlessly mask herself with false optimism even before anyone could discern the disheartened aura that loomed over her.

"I meant to ask if you could still remember how to fuse Alice, but I just remembered that I've got the Compendium for that, haha."

She watched his features crease.

"Shall I take out Alice for you?"

"_Ah_, no." Minako shook her head. "Lilith is more than enough."

"Anyway," She continued, even before Theo could say anything else, as if she had never brought up the topic.

She knew that expression; it was the same one that Yukari occasionally donned, one of the archer's many ways to convey to Minako that she had no reason to feel little under the gazes of other girls who didn't like her.

"Thank you for putting up with me today, too, Theo."

"Arisato-sama—" He wanted to call out to her, to have her name on his lips over and over again, but something as selfish was forbidden for him.

"It... is my pleasure to be of service to you." The words hung heavily as they echoed back to him.

Did the small lady hear him?

He watched her wave goodbye as she slipped through the door that led to the 'real' world, back to its ungrateful inhabitants. Oh, how those humans made him 'green with envy'. He could never understand how petty human girls acted towards the fair guest, especially when they _at least _had the opportunity to become a part of her every day.

He cherished time spent with her, so much that he felt... 'guilt'. He dared not to get any closer, for it was an unthinkable thing, and she ultimately made him desire for something he cannot and should not have. She was capable of swaying him, and his Master Igor, though not by words, made it clear that there would be no other use for him if he let himself give in to what had led 'great men' to fall.

But truly, when had 'long-nosed Igor', as she had fondly called him, ever see the beauty of her contagious smile?

"... Theodore?" He heard the master of the room call out.

"Yes, sire?" He inquired, quick to fulfil any request.

Theo was merely one of Master Igor's many assistant_s_. His existence had begun in the Velvet Room, and he had always thought that it was supposed to end in the Velvet Room as well.

"Prepare tea, if you will."

Despite what he had said earlier, Theo remembered everything, similar to how the master also remembered. It took _everything _and not less than an ounce of his doubtful being to not nod, pause, nor _anything _that could've told—_hinted at _her otherwise, no matter how precious she had already become to him.

"... Of course, sire." It was just the fact that he'd lied to her for the first time that made him feel like he was suffocating.

* * *

**5/20 – We**

**Evening**

**Port Island Station Outskirts**

"And ne, you know what happened next, Michi-chan?" The cat gave her a passive, amber stare before it proceeded to lick its soft, brown spotted white fur.

"Mou!" Minako pouted and playfully crossed her arms.

"Just because you've made cat friends!" The girl dramatically pointed a finger at another feline hanging around.

The one with the egg-shaped spot was the one she decided to nickname 'Michi'. When Minako had first found her, she was in a semi-big old carton box of noodles. Anyone could've easily mistaken it for a play thing and would've probably disposed of it, because unruly kids sometimes frequented the area.

Michi back then was still a kitten, a hungry, and lonely kitten. Minako wasn't sure if Mitsuru would've given her approval if ever she had brought the poor creature home with her (Koromaru was a special case, after all), but she never had the heart to leave Michi out in the streets. Instead, she had made the cat a humble house in a secluded place, somewhere people didn't normally go to.

A dead alley wasn't the best place to shelter a cat, but she felt proud that Michi was at least growing well and safe, and now she even had other cats to hang out with!

"Eh?" Minako scrambled for her bag the moment she realized that she could hear her phone's muffled ringtone.

"W..._Where_-agh...!"

Oh she hoped to Kami that Mitsuru didn't spontaneously decide to check rooms, just to make sure that everyone was doing their obligations as students.

She sighed in relief when she discovered that it wasn't Yukari calling to let her know that the student council president wasn't happy that Minako was out during examination week. It was funny how she could've died from a heart attack just because of Junpei's e-mail.

He was about to give up on reviewing and was now extremely bored. She mentally noted herself to change her phone's settings, and she did, once she was done replying.

"Well, I have to go now Michi-chan," Minako whispered, petting the cat that began to rub itself against her leg.

"I'll come back to visit tomorrow, if I can."

She smiled at the curious stare the feline was giving her, and she let out a dead chuckle soon after.

"I don't think you would miss me that much anyway."

Michi began to mew and stretched her nimble body to slip through Minako's careful grasp. Minako only sighed. She knew Michi wouldn't miss her, but the cat didn't _have_ to ditch her.

* * *

Aragaki Shinjiro was doing his usual routine—wandering around dark places sensible kids wouldn't go at, after dealing with his former classmate's pestering. He could care less for 'curious teenagers'. Hell, he wouldn't waste his time playing 'hero' for imbeciles who purposely went out to stick their ass into trouble, because it _obviously_ wasn't _his_ job.

He just couldn't get himself to sleep once the moon came out, and to hell with the first person who would dare joke that he was a 'werewolf'. Nights made him feel restless. They dug up nightmares that he could never throw away or forget, and hurl them right back at his face with an amused snort.

Tonight was one of those nights when he felt like going out for a walk, and letting himself loose on ruffians who didn't know any better.

Shinjiro kicked an innocent tin can that was unfortunately left littered in his way with a low grunt.

"...chi-cha.."

A voice.

Surely, he heard a voice, but it was faint compared to the punks who tended their own illegal businesses down the block. He had been mistaken for an old man once before, but his senses were still pretty sharp (because he was _not _an old man, _damn it_), if not only _so much_ better, and he had proved that to the unlucky guy that had the nerve to belittle him for assuming so.

He slowed and eventually stopped, and he came across the familiar, dull alley he had started to visit regularly. From where he stood, one could easily mistake the path ahead to be a dead end when in fact, it wasn't. There was a narrow path that made a sharp turn to the right, leading to an open space.

Of course, normal people wouldn't have known unless they were born stubborn and got their head stuck in there at least once. He really wouldn't be surprised if he found smart but eager lovers once he decided to sneak himself through that, but wasn't there a _cheap_ motel nearby?

He sneered cheekily.

The last thing he wanted was to have a V.I.P. view of idiots who couldn't even keep their own hands to themselves, so he turned and decided to go back. But that alley was where the cat he had helped feed resided in.

Again, Shinji could've cared less, but he suddenly had the urge to go check,_ not_ to peep if his guess _was_ right of course, but—he was going to check_ the cat_. Yes, he was just going to see if the cat was doing better now. And it was just a coincidence that he had picked _tonight _out of the seven chances a week available to him.

Step.

He was going to make sure idiots weren't disturbing the creature.

Step.

…

Step.

With each step he made towards his destination, Shinji's frown continued to grow.

He had nothing to do, but _this_—it probably wasn't even worth his trouble, or the trouble he was going to get himself into. Although... there was always the possibility of bumping onto _no _trouble at all.

_'Hm?'_

Shinjiro caught a glimpse of a small crouched figure, and if it was not for the small help that the light that towered above the other individual, he wouldn't have guessed that it was indeed, a girl.

_A girl._

"_Mou!"_

He had seen her before, right? He squinted a little, but a view of a person's back didn't really help anyone. Screw that, the few times he _had _seen her only consisted of a view of her crouched back and that fluff of hair anyway. Shinjiro felt his frown twitch as if he already expected the 'kid' to continue babbling on about whatever happened throughout her day.

With hands in his pockets, Shinjiro turned on his heels to leave. He didn't have any business with a girl who talked to cats.

* * *

Minako thought that Michi just wanted to get away from her as soon as possible, and she could understand if that was indeed the case, so she got up and collected her belongings. She wouldn't force the cat if it didn't want to spend time with her, and she had to go back to the dorm anyway.

Her 'intuition' told her that it would be wise to get back to her room before Junpei thought of sneaking up to the girls' floor and stumble across Yukari, in case the archer wanted to take a break.

Sighing, Minako turned on her heels and followed the apt creature. She fixed her carnelian gaze on the four-legged animal as it 'walked' ahead of her. Minako didn't want to accidentally step on her Michi, even if Michi wasn't the affectionate type. She still did, unfortunately, when she happened to step on something slippery.

And, despite her attempt to catch herself, it proved to be futile as she only grasped air. Minako was unluckily flung forward in the most ungraceful manner. Only Michi's surprised hiss and Minako's feminine cry shattered the silence that enveloped the area.

The wall growled.

Wait.

_Walls _couldn't _growl._

"Eh...?" Minako cracked an eye open, her vision blurred for a moment.

She waited for the loud ringing in her head to cease. It had been a long while since she had bumped onto something so hard. The impact reminded her of the first time she had been hit by God's Hand. She clutched the side of her head as she staggered back a few steps, and she slowly regained the grip she had on her bag.

"_That hurt_," Minako moaned softly, almost falling because her legs still wobbled.

"Hey," She blinked when a man's hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

Her red eyes met bold, bistre eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Shinjiro was frowning as he let her go.

If his memory did not fail him, he had seen her at the hospital. That meant she was a part of SEES, that she was one of the new recruits Akihiko had told him about. If she happened to be an acquaintance of Akihiko, that equaled to _being responsible_ for her, even if only _partly more_ than he was responsible for a complete stranger.

His eyes narrowed once he got a better look at the girl. She was uncomfortably pale. Was she sick? What kind of meals were they serving in the dormitory lately? His frown persisted to grow. Surely people there knew how to _at least _cook _one _simple and _decent _meal, right?

"I came here for Michi." Minako suddenly found her voice, after unintentionally staring again. "I—"

_"Michi?"_ Shinjiro raised a brow at the girl who simply nodded.

Michi conveniently let out a mew.

"I visit Michi every week," The blade-wielder explained, fumbling with the strap of her bag she had placed behind her.

_'So, the cat had an owner.' _"Isn't it _exam_ week in Gekkoukan?"

"Eh? _Oh!_" She hoped that Shinjiro wouldn't ever mention coming across her the next time he met up with Akihiko. "Yes."

"Yes it is..."

"Don't _you_ have curfew?"

She pursed her lips tight. She could tell that Shinjiro _didn't exactly_ approve of sneaking out during exam week.

"What are you still doing, standing there?" The burly-looking man huffed when Minako merely blinked at him.

"_Eh?_"

"_Get moving_!" Shinjiro 'tsk'ed, and motioned for her to follow him. "Pretty faces like _yours_ won't help you at all around here."

She nodded dumbly and immediately trailed after Shinjiro, who began to walk 'big' steps ahead of her.

It took a few awkward moments before it dawned on Minako that he had just called _her_ pretty. _Pretty!_ Maybe he didn't mean it, it was just a small thing after all, but it still made her cheeks heat up. She found herself praying that if she was blushing madly, the other wouldn't notice at all.

Minako was even starting to develop the habit of staring, and that was bad because_ staring was rude_, but she _wanted_ to touch him,_ just_ to make sure he was _really there_. It took a lot of conviction to not to, and she scolded herself that the Shinjiro in front of her (_wasn't _the_ Shinjiro _she knew and) didn't _even_ know her name yet.

She was sure that Shinjiro didn't notice anything anyway, he never bothered to throw a glance behind even if only to check whether she was still following him or not, and merely continued to walk until they reached the station. The walk itself was uneventful, in somewhat comforting way.

"Go back to the dorm." Shinjiro said to her sternly, and Minako immediately knew that he would not think twice about giving her more than a scolding if he saw her around the area too soon.

The transferee nodded and gave him a bow, accompanied by a 'thank you' before taking her first step away from the young man. It wasn't until she'd gotten far enough that she took a quick glance back at her starting point and watched as Shinjiro began to walk away. He never looked back.

Still, she couldn't feel happier. Shinjiro truly was a genuinely kind person, waiting for her to safely cover a distance before actually leaving.

Maybe after having seen him tonight, she could finally get that sleep she had been wishing so hard for.

* * *

Sorry this took so long!

I'm not feeling very well. Hopefully my college life wouldn't be as bad as my high school one. _*Sighs* _I need a hug.

**Thank you very much for reading! Review if you're free!**


	5. Track 4: Over The Rain

**Warnings: Unbeta'd**, so beware of grammar errors and typos.

**Disclaimer: **All rights belong to Atlus.

* * *

My heart quietly scolds me,  
"The heartbeat you can hear if you listen closely,  
isn't something to be cast aside."

If you hold this hand and beat the dust off,  
it should be visible to _you_ too, that today  
is a 'now' that's different from yesterday

* * *

**Loading...**

**TRACK 4**

* * *

**5/23 – Sa**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"_FINALLY!"_

Junpei let out a joyful cheer the moment he passed through the dormitory doors and threw himself on the couch.

"Exams are officially _done_ and_ out!_"

Minako laughed as she trailed after the euphoric male with Yukari. They've watched how he comically struggled throughout the day. Even if he didn't know more than half of the examination questions given, Junpei still did his best, and that was one of many things to be proud of.

Minako wanted him to pass, and she hoped the teachers did, too. Junpei said that he 'owned' the language exam. She hoped it was true and not the other way around.

His rambling made Minako lower her head in shame.

All she could think about last night was the next time she was going to visit Michi, while the other inhabitants of the building were busy bombarding themselves with all the lessons they've tackled over the couple of months in school (save Mitsuru). She had even heard Junpei's frustrated grunts last night all the way from the boys' floor below.

If she aced the exams, would Mitsuru-senpai perhaps be a little loose on her? Maybe, but she knew it was unlikely. The senior would be proud and nothing more. Besides, Minako knew better. A little mistake could end up in tragedy when it came to the Kirijo heiress, even if it was something not related to education.

"No need to be _so noisy_ about it you know?" Yukari told him with less snark than usual.

Junpei scoffed at her and bent over to reach the remote.

"I know you're just as happy as I am, Yuka-tan. No need to be shy~"

Minako preferred to stay out of the dynamic duo's friendly conversation. She signed her name on the log book before humming her way towards the kitchen. She figured that she could at least fix something simple for after-exams. They sure deserved it, too.

"Hey!"

Before the archer could retort, a light bulb lit above Junpei's head.

"We should _absolutely _celebrate! Let's take a week off from this whole shadow-whacking business!"

Akihiko arrived at that moment, fresh from his trip to the hospital, with a genuine smile painted on his face.

"Just because the exams are over, doesn't mean we can slack off on the Tartarus exploration."

He sat at the other end of the couch, opposite of Junpei, and made sure that at least another individual could still fit in the distance between them.

"Senpai's right, Junpei."

Said teen groaned in displeasure.

"_Pshaw_, just a day then!"

"Sanada-senpai's fully healed now, right?" Yukari spoke with much enthusiasm, completely ignoring Junpei.

She thought she would never see the senior smile again, ever since the injury.

As if instantly recharged, Junpei blasted into a full-blown grin. "_Seriously_ man? Congrats!"

It was sort of nice to have another male to bond with. It would be very helpful to have the senior back on the offensive, after all. Not that Junpei wasn't enough to go knight-in-armor for the two ladies, anyway. Hey, it was going to make his 'investigation' easier. Multitasking baby!

"Thanks."

Of course, Akihiko, too, was pleased.

He'd been waiting for what felt like a hundred years to get back on the job. He didn't need to go around in circles in the command room anymore, he didn't have to be stuck with Mitsuru during Tartarus visits anymore either. Nothing motivated him more than the thoughts of training to catch up, juniors to guide, and a leader to learn more from. He could _feel_ his knuckles burn, thrilled to finally be able to get some action for himself.

"I have a month-long worth of training to catch up on."

Yukari commented that straining himself so soon was a bad idea, but it was just like Akihiko to prioritize Persona-related agenda, above anything. She only shrugged, she couldn't do anything about her stubborn dorm mates anyway.

"Hey, is it just me, or something really smells good in here?" Junpei paused and breathed deeply, exaggerating the size of his nostrils.

"I smell _good _stuff!"

"Maybe Mitsuru-senpai finally got a cook!" Yukari's face almost lit up in glee with the assumption, she didn't consider herself as the best when it came to cooking after all.

Looking around to find one junior missing, Akihiko's eyes darted to the direction of the kitchen. Mitsuru would never initiate something so... normal.

Leaving the other underclassmen to enjoy their post-exams time in the lounge, the boxing champ stood up and began to walk his way to where he assumed their field leader was. He knew at least a thing or two regarding cooking (at one point he got sick of Shinji's nagging), he could probably help out if she would let him.

Besides, he still had crepes to thank her for.

* * *

**6/1 – Mo**

**Dark Hour**

**Minako's Room**

"Good evening."

"Hello." Minako greeted the eerie smile that accompanied Pharos' appearance with a curt nod.

It was not the first time that the pale boy had appeared by her bed's foot board. She'd already grown accustomed to finding a floating pair of luminescent eyes staring back at her with endless fascination. Pharos did whatever he wanted to, he was genuinely a very simple boy.

"How are you?"

She wasn't so sure if she just saw the ghostly existence's smile curve wider when she showed him one of hers. The pallid person that was Pharos disappeared again, his voice bouncing off the four walls of her room. He appeared beside her this time, trying to lean on the head board too.

Minako remembered that it wasn't long after having arrived at the dormitory that she had felt that her bed seemed a little_ too_ big, a little bit too _empty_. Pharos made nights like this more bearable.

Minako was the one amused this time. Pharos fit there perfectly, just like a cute little brother.

"What is that thing you are holding?" He asked, big blue eyes meeting beady red ones.

"Hm?"

Minako held up the toy in her arms for the boy to see.

"This is Rabbit-chan."

"I see..." Pharos stared at the foreign object in the way that was uniquely _him_.

"Here." She murmured, and placed her precious doll in his arms.

His gaze moved in a smooth, liquid motion, from her own radiant and warm gaze, to the sight of the harmless stuffed animal. She urged him to give it a hug, just like what she had been doing just moments before. Hesitant wasn't the word to cut it, but there wasn't an exact one to anyway, when it came to little boy Death. She told him that it was okay, but Pharos didn't seem to comprehend.

"Rabbit-chan..."

His expression was blank as he settled to just pat Rabbit-chan on her head.

Minako blinked. The boy beside her kept repeating it in a way that wormed into her ears, like Uncle (yes, _uncle_)Tanaka's silly theme song.

"Rabbit-chan."

He continued to stare down at the rabbit doll.

"You gave it a name?"

As if it possessed something that he could never understand.

"_Why?_"

Like he knew it had something he could never have for himself.

"Can you..."

He was considering the words that he was about to utter like everything depended on it. Drawing out a reaction like this, although not violent in any way, was worrisome. Did she say something that she shouldn't have said?

She watched the moon's light dance in Death's young eyes, searching for anything that she might have missed. No matter how much of an open book he had now become to her, it wasn't like she knew him like the back of her hand. This kid was Death, and given a couple of months, Ryoji. She could never tell when Pharos would react in a more Pharos-like manner, or his more grown-up-self manner.

Pharos was silent, before picking up the doll and placing it back in its owner's hold.

"It's okay," Minako reassured him.

"Ask me anything."

She didn't feel unease talking to him, and she would have preferred it very much if it worked both ways.

"Then..." Pharos nodded, pouring all his attention to the only person that could see him.

"...Will you give me a name, too?"

Minako had already said yes even before she had the time to blink.

"_Pharos_...?"

She nodded at his inquisitive gaze.

"Ahh...I _like_ it.."

For a moment, it was as if she could almost see Ryoji smiling, in the way that was only for her.

"_Ah_," Pharos kept the pleased curve etched on his face, not anymore giving Rabbit-chan the intense look he did just a while ago.

"I just remembered something. In another week, the moon will be full again, and the next ordeal will be upon you. So... _be careful_."

* * *

**6/4 – Th**

**After School**

**Hagakure Ramen, Iwatodai Strip Mall**

"Eh? What...photos?" Minako settled her bowl and gave Junpei a look that meant that he _shouldn't _be keeping his mouth shut this time.

"It's _not_ what you think at all!" The guy waved his hands in front of him, a gesture of usual denial. "They're photos of you in gym clothes!"

_"Okay..._" Junpei knit his brows together, not really sure how to phrase the matter.

"It's not just _you_ in them, there _are_ other girls too, but..."

Minako could remember this happening, somewhat. But she never did manage to get a hold of a copy herself.

"This kind of thing, it's not normal." Junpei flashed one of his more relaxed smiles, half-amused, and half of something she couldn't identify quickly enough.

"Miss Popular now, aren't you?"

"_Ha!_ I _wish_." She watched him as he slowly shook his head in disapproval.

"You are, don't be so modest!" The magician plunged his chopsticks to fish for the egg in his ramen bowl.

"I don't think it's such a crime to be beautiful. I mean, it's not anyone's fault_ if_ they _are_."

Junpei was one of the reasons she felt more confident about herself. He pulled her up, even if he himself was already having a hard time crawling. He was the kind of goofy guy that would intentionally do silly things, just to make you laugh when he would see you frowning.

Junpei would listen to her bawl, and though awkward, he'd stick with her because he knew better than to leave someone who just _needed_ someone to be there. He was the guy every girl should have by her side.

Ah, how she wanted Yukari to know this side of him soon.

_Very _soon.

_"Ow!"_

Junpei choked.

"W-_What_—?"

He forced himself to swallow before proceeding with spewing incoherent words. He followed his best friend's gaze to look at her wrist.

"_Dude_, what _happened_?"

Junpei frowned.

"Is _that_...? Take the watch off first."

"Okay." Minako sniffed because of the sudden jolt she had felt from her wrist. How she bumped on something, she didn't know.

"You've got a _bruise_..."

Junpei's frown grew at the discovery after the leather watch was gone. Caressing her wrist, Minako stared at the area just a little below it. There it was, a mix of purple and a hint of blue.

"I probably got it from work." She said to him after recalling the events of yesterday at Chagall Cafe and an unsatisfied customer.

_"Work?"_

The joker's features further creased. His eyes told her that he felt hurt, because he didn't know.

"You _work_?"

He didn't know that she had already become an orphan at the age of ten, and how she had worked in a lot of part-time jobs in order to support herself. The Junpei _she_ knew, _knew_.

Not_ this_ Junpei. Not _yet_.

"Junpei." She pleaded.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I won't tell," Junpei sighed, losing.

"Just tell me more about stuff, okay?"

Minako nodded.

She didn't mean to keep him out of anything, she just didn't remember to open up the topic to him. She didn't want him to mention it to Yukari either. She wasn't sure if he was conversing with Akihiko already, but she didn't want to risk anything.

She then thought, was she being too careful? Was she starting to clam up because she had to think everything through? Did she _not trust them enough anymore_?

Junpei let out another sigh.

"Do we have a heat pack at the dorm? You wouldn't want that to worsen, ya know? I'll drop by to check on you from now on."

Asked why, Junpei merely scoffed.

"What _else_? I _can't_ just leave a cutie! Besides, I've seen Yuka-tan take a break in that cafe once. You_ know_ how popular she is with the dudes."

Minako blankly stared at him.

"...You just wanted a reason to step in there, don't you?"

Flabbergasted, Junpei immediately denied her accusation. "_I_ can't go visit a _friend_ now?"

"Oh wow, which reminds me!"

He finished his special ramen bowl with one last gulp.

"_Sheesh,_ Yuka-tan sure is taking this ghost issue seriously, isn't she?"

"Why are you _changing_ the topic?" Minako giggled and smiled at his display, transferring all her attention back to her own bowl.

Times like this were times she cherished a lot. Times when she could sit around with a friend, talk about all the interesting things that happened that day, and just enjoy the food she knew she wouldn't be able to anymore after a year.

Every second, every breath. Each one was a countdown towards a definite end. She could cry, but she knew her time was limited and she could not afford to use what's left of her time to wallow in self-pity.

* * *

**6/5 – Fr**

**Back Alley, Tatsumi Port Island**

As a general rule, _no one_ in their _right_ and sound state of mind ventured into this area purposely. Unless you were (optionally, an out of school youth) determined to destroy your life, or someone with a really nasty attitude and the strength to accompany it, nobody would recommended that you _ever_ take a step in it.

People were 'safe' under the sun's rays, as none of its usual residents dared to do anything under broad daylight. But come the veil of the dark night, and the place _stinks_ of vile. If the back alley was anything, it was everything but a place for smart kids to choose to roam around in.

"Oh, _man_..."

Minako could hear Junpei's breath hitch.

"This is so much _worse_ than I thought...!"

Junpei broke out into cold sweat.

He didn't like the situation that they were getting themselves into, but who, in _all_ honesty, _would_? _Shadows_, he could handle, because he had a _Persona_ come Dark Hour, but _outside _of that, he had _nothing._

Oh for good Kami's sake, he wanted _out_.

He walked a few steps more, before finally admitting that his hands were indeed shaking in his pockets, and not the other way around. The inside of his head was booming, and his survival instinct was screaming _bloody hell_.

Between the urge to save himself and his resolve to stay with his two female companions to make sure that nothing bad happened to _them,_ guess which one won him over? Obviously, the latter. To hell with chivalry, it wasn't really doing neither him nor his bladder any good.

Not that it mattered that moment.

_Okay,_ maybe it did.

"_You_ don't belong here."

Some guy hissed, throwing his used cigarette on the ground and putting it out under his shoe.

"We don't need _your _permission to _be_ here!" Yukari retorted with irritation instead of fear.

It made Junpei just _want_ to cry.

The mean-looking people closed in on them, like cunning coyotes pleased with themselves because they've just caught tonight's dinner. More words were exchanged, and glares grew more intense. What was worse was that the unwilling Junpei was getting the short end of it all.

"_We can use your pretty faces for a little extra cash!"_

Numb.

"_Ohhh we'll mess her up so bad—"_

Numb was what he was feeling. He was conscious, but his mind had already shut down. At that moment he discovered that you could indeed, drown in air.

_"I feel sorry for ya Goatee."_

Junpei couldn't bring himself to move.

_"This bitch's a pain in the ass, huh?"_

But he could see. _Everything_, more vividly than ever. In slow motion, even. He could see the closed fist that was nearing, but his legs refused to budge.

"_Junpei_!" Yukari screamed.

Dumbfounded was the only word that was slapped all over Junpei's face. He didn't even realize that he had stopped breathing for the last minute, and had bumped onto something. He had fallen butt first on the ground, shaken.

Looking up, his gaze met Minako's. Her eyes burned with the deadly kind of glare she always had whenever they visited Tartarus. She was the one who had pulled him backwards only seconds ago, and it registered late in his just-rebooting mind that he had managed to avoid a punch meant for his guts by a hair's width.

_"You—!"_

Junpei scrambled back on his feet.

_"Little fucker!"_

He was determined to man up this time. He would let himself get hurt, but _not_ Yukari or Minako.

_Not._

_Ever._

"That's _enough_."

Shinjiro walked up to them from the direction of Michi's alley, and Junpei recognized him as the scary man back at the hospital.

His heels made heavy 'clack's with every step until he was towering over the bums of the back alley. His fierce umber gaze clashed with Minako's carmine, and he frowned deeper, realizing that _he_ recognized _her_. It wasn't the first time he had run into her.

Familiar faces meant bigger responsibility, and it irked him. Kids nowadays should learn that there won't always be someone who was going to save their sorry careless butts whenever they got into trouble. What was supposed to go on violently for who knew how long ended shortly after Shinjiro's arrival. Only God _knew_ what _else_ could've happened if nobody had interfered.

Minako remembered, and she was prepared. But she had Junpei and Yukari to guard over too, and that put them in a disadvantageous corner.

She put her safety on the line, and hoped, and _trusted_ that Shinjiro would come.

And he did.

* * *

**6/8 - Mo**

**Evening**

**Gekkoukan High School**

It was him who pulled her hurriedly towards the pillar. It was him who grabbed her hand to run away, and it was him who pulled her up tightly against his vested chest. As opposed to the cold, concrete ridges of the structure that he must have been pressing his back onto, _he_ was warm, like the sun during the daylight.

Akihiko's heartbeat was loud and clear against her ear.

_Doki._

_Doki._

She remembered overhearing a couple of girls once. They said that Akihiko's arms were very strong. Having witnessed him in battle, she understood that he showed no mercy towards his rivals even in the premises of the ring.

Would he possibly be different around the girl he liked? Would he hold her gently? Would he take her in his arms, like this?

Minako didn't really know, never really knew _more _than the side of Akihiko that he let her see. Away from the tension of combat, yes, he was different. Akihiko was a very gentle person. Gentle, but strong. He was someone you could easily feel safe with.

"_Senpai...?"_

The words left her mouth through a soft murmur. Was her heart beating as fast as his? Could he hear hers the way she could hear his?

The sound of footsteps dawned on their ears. Once the 'thud's ceased, light poured over and a silhouette of a man stretched until the end of the corridor. The footsteps then started again, the patrol presumably done. They held their breaths until the steps faded.

"It was just a security guard," Akihiko let a sigh of relief escape his lips as he loosened the hold he unconsciously had on his group leader.

"He's gone, let's go."

It didn't seem that he minded how intimately close he had just pulled a girl to him, nor did he seem to be even aware of it. There were no words exchanged. And in a way, Minako preferred it that way.

They swiftly got back on their feet to accomplish what they set out to do and made their way towards the faculty room. Following closely behind the boxer, Minako was reminded of things. Like how much taller Akihiko actually was, like how he handled everything else not Dark Hour-related with greater difficulty, and how equally binding his ashen gaze could be.

"The _key_, here it is!"

"Senpai," Minako had to restrain herself from giggling at the way his features would scrunch a little from the tiny mistake.

"That's not it."

The way the fine, brows of silver furrowed and his lips slightly parted, made him look plain silly when she pointed out that what he was looking for had been in front of him all along.

* * *

**6/11 – Th**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"_Hey man! Where ya goin'?"_

"_Paulownia Mall!"_

"_I'm gonna eat up your share of dinner if you don't come back soon!"_

"_Mm, it's okay, go ahead!"_

Akihiko could hear Iori, with his no less than default, booming volume, even before he even reached the end of the staircase. He only caught a glimpse of Arisato's back before she disappeared into the crack that was the opened door.

"But you guys just got back..."

Yukari's brows dipped downwards as she frowned.

"Yeah..."

The magician nodded, having nothing else to say, and merely shrugged.

"Minako is a very busy girl, isn't she?" Ikutsuki joined in, crossing his legs with his hands clasped and rested them on his knees.

_'Doing what, though?' _Akihiko immediately thought.

"Oh, hey Akihiko-senpai." The goateed junior greeted him, to which the senior nodded in acknowledgement.

Akihiko eyed the door.

He was aware that the girl went out at dark frequently. Whatever her nightly activities were, he had no idea. He was sure that Paulownia mall closed conveniently late, but there weren't a lot of people around the area at night. She would always come back before Dark Hour struck, anyway.

Believing that she actually did lessened his worries, so he continued to. Though they knew now that special shadows only appeared when the moon was full, a girl going out at night was...

He blinked his thoughts away and sat across the archer's place.

However Arisato wanted to spend her nights should be of no concern to him. She was the most able person he knew of the opposite sex when it came to self-defense (_and_ Mitsuru, of course). He was confident about the fact, having tasted the short end of her unbelievable reflexes.

And since he got back, she had yet to disappoint him.

"Ah, Akihiko!"

The voice of the SEES adviser further took the senior out of his reverie.

"You did very well the other night."

Akihiko wanted to say that it _wasn't_ him that should be praised. He almost didn't do _anything_. It was Mitsuru's protegee who controlled the situation.

Arisato knew exactly what had to be done, and gave the orders at the right time. If he said that she could've still handled it fine with or without them, he knew he would only be stating nothing but the truth.

"Thanks." Was Akihiko's short reply.

"Yeah senpai!"

Junpei, remembering how they struck down two big baddies just a few nights before, cut in before Ikutsuki could stir the premature conversation towards anything else.

"You even landed the finishing blow on those things!

"Oh, oh! By the way, senpai, where'd you keep those nifty gloves? Have you ever tried sock puppets?"

"No..."

"Why would _anyone _wear something like that inside of _Tartarus_, Stupei?"

Yukari randomly decided to stop ignoring the magician and put up a face that mocked him and his _magnificent_ nickname.

"_Stop. Calling. Me. That._"

Junpei huffed heavily at the archer, the corners of his smile twitching. She sure knew _how_ to hurt his manliness.

"Now, now." Was Ikutsuki's futile attempt to keep things peaceful.

Akihiko didn't want to deal with any of the two's bickering. He knew their pattern anyway, and he knew Junpei would most likely let Yukari get her way in the end. He always let Yukari have her way.

Akihiko already forgot the initial purpose of him going downstairs, so with nothing to do, he thought it was best to just go back to his room, away from the unnecessary tension between the juniors. He had always been better off alone than in the company of people, anyway.

* * *

**Naganaki Shrine**

* * *

_'Say, do you have a brother?' Shachou Tanaka suddenly asked, momentarily sidetracking from the current topic._

_Minako looked up at his eyes for a split second, and saw the change in them. She shook her head._

_'I don't.'_

_ This made Tanaka oji-chan frown, and Minako started to wonder what it was that made him ask._

"_I see. Forget it, then."_

_Minako tilted her head to a side. It was intriguing. Did pseudo-oji-chan expect otherwise?_

* * *

"Eh...?"

Thrown back to reality, Minako found herself not anymore in the premises of Paulownia Mall.

"_Time is precious, child! You must _never_ waste it on something that will _not_ be beneficial to you!"_

Shachou's 'words of wisdom' suddenly barged into her mind's personal space.

Tanaka was so pleased with her and the 'potential of her looks' that he even mentioned wanting to adopt her, which she was _pretty sure _he was going to end up actually doing. With _or without_ her knowledge.

"_Mou.__"_

Minako sighed.

"Time's the least I'll waste."

If only her rich 'uncle' knew.

While she let her mind wander, her legs had brought her to the shrine. Only the soft rustling of leaves soothed her ears once she switched her mp3 off and let the headphones hang loosely around her neck.

"..."

Whipping out her phone from her pocket, she checked for any e-mails that Junpei might have sent. She squinted and blinked twice before she exhaled in relief. She wasn't in trouble _yet_.

After finally reaching the top, the Fool groaned as she stretched out her arms. Going out at night was_ the best!_

"Hey, you."

Minako blinked, her arms still up in the air as if someone had pressed paused on her. On the cold ground was a shadow, stretching halfway to the shrine that was more than ten feet away. It swallowed hers, but not her arms'. The shadow looked now like some spider. Without curves. And an extra dog-head-looking thing.

Koromaru poked his head into her peripheral view and softly whined before he sniffed her. The dog then went around and stopped in front of her, barking as he sat comfortably on the ground. Minako always thought that whenever dogs stuck their tongues out, they looked as if they were smiling. Or were at least saying 'hello!'.

She remembered that the shrine was Koromaru's honored haven. She was bound to see him.

Minako lowered her head, suddenly absolutely fascinated with the roughness of the cement against her shoes, as she slowly pivoted herself around to face the creature that towered over her much smaller stature.

She found Shinjiro bending in that somewhat deteriorated way that he usually did, in an effort to be able to look at her straight. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't really frowning either.

"Senpai...?"

She stared directly into his eyes this time, without meaning to, and she found them to be bold and strong. Like whirlpools of dark and rich cinnabar. Dangerous, but easy on the eyes, just like how she had known them to be.

"It _is _you."

* * *

They sat at one of the benches provided for the shrine patrons.

Minako quietly giggled to herself. A lively imagination was a good thing to have. According to her, anyway. She glanced down at the leather watch that was now on her right wrist. She moved it there, because her bruise still hurt. Not as much as it did days ago, but still.

A sigh made her look up at the grotesque man beside her.

"Go back," Shinjiro said gruffly, without bothering to at least face her.

"It's boring here, isn't it?"

"_No_!"

Was Minako's immediate reply, earning a weird (because he _wasn't surprised at all)_ look from him and a short yelp from Koromaru, who was resting his head on her lap.

"I-I mean I'm not bored at all!"

She instantly corrected herself before realizing that she had spoken too loud.

"No.. Not at all..."

She lowered her head, flustered.

"Never."

She didn't mean to come across as bored. If anything, she was enjoying herself. She just wasn't vocal sometimes. Outgoing as she was, there were times wherein even _she_ preferred to keep quiet.

"Yeah?"

Shinjiro said it in a way that simply meant, 'nice to know'.

"Are _you _bored, senpai?" The SEES leader asked, running her hand through the soft fur of the shiba inu on her lap.

The senior grunted and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"_And_ if I say yes?"

"I—" Minako pursed her lips tightly.

"I..I'm sorry..."

Shinjiro then threw her an incredulous look.

"_What_ the hell?"

He leaned forward again, with a freshly scrawled scowl on his face when he figured that the girl refused to speak any more.

"Why would you say sorry when you _haven't_ done anything?"

"Eh, but _you_ said—" Koromaru barked shallowly at Minako, who stopped patting his head.

"I'm sorry."

Shinjiro bit back the growl he could just _feel_ about to erupt in his throat, and the almost-glare his facial muscles had already been used to giving annoying and non-annoying people alike. This girl was going him a headache soon.

"_No_. I'm not bored." He muttered, seconds later.

"But I soon will be if all I hear from you is '_I'm sorry_'." He added, greatly emphasizing the last two words.

Minako nodded fervently, momentarily forgetting all about scratching the area between Koromaru's ears once more.

"Ne, senpai?"

"What is it this time?" Shinjiro replied with his default, annoyed tone, even if he wasn't really any close to annoyed.

"You're not going to ask why I'm outside the dorm this late?"

He eyed her in a way that let Minako know that he found her bizarre. Or just someone who asked _a lot_ of nonsensical questions.

"Why would I waste time asking you when I can just _drag_ you back there?"

She just smiled at him. As if smiling at someone you barely knew and at someone who dressed suspiciously like an outlaw was one of the most normal things to do in one of the world's messed up society nowadays.

"You won't hurt me."

He didn't return her smile. She didn't really expect him to.

"You wouldn't hurt anyone."

Shinjiro was silent.

"What makes _you_ so sure?"

But he didn't frown.

"I'm not."

Minako hummed in melancholy.

_**You are**, _she could hear Lilith hiss inside her mind. _**You've always been a liar**._

Shinjiro didn't do anything.

"You don't even know me."

His voice was inconspicuously softer.

"I don't."

_'But I did. I_ used_ to.'_

Koromaru whimpered under Minako's gentle grasp, nudging her hand to stop. It was his way of saying that he has had enough petting for tonight. Minako let Koromaru go and without moving, she watched him happily move around.

Over the years of living miserably and looming over the dangerous streets, Shinjiro had grown aware of how much of a bitch life could be to one, unprepared person. Every day he would see familiar and unfamiliar faces in the dark alleys. He would stand quietly in a corner, keep to himself, and watch them throw their lives away.

He easily recognized cracked smiles.

"Anyone will understand you if you give them a chance, senpai."

She said it so simply, without any underlying meaning in her smile, that it turned Shinjiro speechless. They stared at each other for a while, and the broken smile slowly became profound.

She was true.

"...Stop saying nonsense." He then mumbled, suddenly too conscious of himself.

He was the first to give up on their unofficial staring contest, and hurriedly looked away.

"Eh, what's wrong, senpai?"

Minako asked as Shinjiro got up and dusted himself off.

"I'm taking you back to your dorm."

"_Eh?_ But I can manage—" The senior blatantly ignored what she had to say.

"Just get moving." He said to her, tone a little softer than the one he originally used to converse with her.

Shinjiro paused just to watch her say goodbye to Koromaru, that unnerving smile she had shown him now gone. This new recruit was very weird, Shinjiro thought, with hands shoved in his pockets.

Despite having been glared at, she still went as far as to sit beside him and smile. Her eyes reminded him of Mitsuru's, a pair anyone could get themselves to openly admire, but now he realized that the Kirijo heiress' was much different. This girl's eyes caught moonlight in a way he had never seen before.

They had a smile of their own, like they have already seen what life was all about.

* * *

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Arisato?"

Akihiko called out to Minako as she came into view. He smiled as he stepped out into the sidewalk. The girl waved at him, despite still being a few yards away.

"Hello, senpai~!"

"Where have you been?"

There was still a couple of more hours before Dark Hour came, but he didn't expect her to take this long. The lamp posts helped him identify her smiling face, and the towering figure that followed just behind her.

"_Shinji?_"

Akihiko was surprised, and his smile faded into something more serious upon having caught sight of his childhood friend.

"Why—?"

"I'm only returning this."

Shinjiro cut in before Akihiko could even finish, putting one of his big hands on top of Minako's head. Minako's mouth formed a somewhat surprised 'O' and blinked at the sudden weight, before protesting that she had a name and that she wasn't just '_this'_.

"I...see."

"I'm leavin'." Shinjiro simply said, before withdrawing his hand and placing it back in his pocket.

"Ah, thank you senpai!" Minako shouted as he started to walk away, towards the same direction he came from.

Akihiko watched her as she did. He didn't try anything to stop him. He had known Shinjiro for years—more than enough to know exactly when he should and _shouldn't_ keep him from walking out. And Akihiko knew that tonight just wasn't one of those 'should' instances.

* * *

_Finally,_ it's out! Hey, hey, do you guys still remember me? I've no other excuse aside from 'college kidnapped me'. Hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter by December!

Feel free to** let me know what you think **and** leave a review**! I read everything in the reviews (_they help with my motivation issues_). If you need to _vent about something_, that's _okay_ too. :P

Thank you to **Shiroi Iyasu, inkie, 69, The Meibito, This is a review, Ligare, SerbiaTakesCntrl, Miyavilurver, Nessa671, Anna Gaskill, My Obsession with Butterflies,** and **random reviewer** for the reviews! (Haha, anonymous people have interesting pennames)

**Thank **_**you**_** for reading! **_*hugs*_


	6. Track 5: Love Sadness

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series, nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. All rights belong to Atlus.

**Warning: This **is a **sappy chapter. **I don't know if it's sappy _enough_ for some people's standards, but it's sappy for me so...yeah. _Beta'd_, so any grammatical errors, typos left are solely my fault.

Thanks so much to **KizunaOtakuArashi** for beta-ing this chapter! :'D

* * *

You cried, you really did cry as your heart screamed "cry"

I pray and hope you won't hate me

You love me, you loved people so much

That your heart almost withered

So I'll love your portion, I'll love you, until I wither

* * *

**Loading...**

**Track 5**

* * *

**6/22 – M**

**Early Morning**

**Gekkoukan High School**

"_Hey_ Sanada! Check_ this_ out!"

Not even five steps away from the entrance, one of Akihiko's more rowdy classmates practically already ran up to him and started to obnoxiously wave something in his face.

"Want a copy? They're only 500 yen each!"

"Don't be _stupid_ Takeshi!"

Another one came up to them and pulled the all-too enthusiastic classmate off the boxer, even before Akihiko could inspect whatever it was that was being shoved at him.

"Why would _he_ want any when he's got the_ real thing_?"

"_Ohh!"_

The one called Takeshi snickered.

"You're absolutely right!"

"How's it like, being in a dorm with that new girl?" A distant voice asked, and it's the mocking tone used that irked Akihiko.

"The 'new girl' has a name." He responded.

He was forcing himself to just stay put.

"Is it _Sanada_, too?"

More snickered. The indifference becomes disgust and repulsion.

"_She's pretty cute! I saw her the other day."_

"_They say she's got a boyfriend, lucky guy, eh?"_

"_Honestly, you expect me to stop just because she's taken?"_

_"I don't care, I_ want_ her~"_

"Dude_, stop making that face, it's _gross!"

"_And_ what the hell,_ she's_ someone_ else's chick."_

They talked amongst themselves so loudly, like they purposely wanted for Akihiko to hear everything. Were they expecting that he feel remorse for something he wasn't doing? He hadn't heard anything regarding this issue for the past few days, and it had led him to think that it had become a thing of the past. One of the many things that were now behind him, but he was apparently mistaken.

"_What are you trying to prove, Sanada?"_

"_Just because a lot of girls are ready to throw themselves at your feet, you think it's okay to go prancing around and snatching _other _people's girlfriends?"_

It started with a simple joke about the local heartthrob with 'the girl from 2-F', and now it had evolved into full-blown, malicious gossip. It had become an inconvenient and false truth that spread among many like a wild forest fire, what's worst was that these _guys_ were too eager to act on mere _gossip_.

Akihiko then decided that enough was enough. He had already kept himself quiet for _too_ long. He had given them countless of opportunities to just drop the matter altogether.

The boxing captain took a step closer, making the shorter male in front of him sprint and scamper away. Although teased to be as 'quick as lightning' whenever the need to flee arose, it was still Takeshi's collar that Akihiko's gloved hand was able to grab.

"W-Wait!"

Takeshi helplessly flails his arms, breath hitching.

"_Here_!"

He managed to draw out things from his pocket, despite being close to shaking, and shoves them onto the pale boy only to fall scattered on the tiled floor.

"Take them! Take _all of them_! Just let me go!"

Akihiko didn't growl, nor did he seethe with disbelief.

"Here's something that you should know about her," He does so loud enough for everyone to hear.

"'The girl' has a name, and it's Arisato. She is _no one's_ girlfriend, the rumor _i__sn't _true."

The room fell deathly silent, eyes all on him. The noise of the ringing bell flooded their ears and signaled the start of the first period.

_"Lucky bastard..."_

He hears Takeshi mumble as he loosens his grasp, enough for the other student to slip through.

They saw him as someone who, no matter what he did, girls would have still willingly worshipped. He simply wasn't like the rest of them. They wouldn't get the same treatment even if they _did_ the things he did. Even without effort, he would still be liked, because to them, it was like the universe's law that Sanada was _born _to _be_ loved.

_Nobody_ wanted to see someone _so_ perfect, someone whose existence kept on reminding them of what they can possibly never be, someone they think they can never ever reach.

"Sit down, everyone! Did you not hear the bell?!"

Akihiko would've helped pick up the things—now he had identified as photos—scattered at his feet, but the teacher had already called on someone else to do it. He took the one that was caught in his vest between his fingers and paid no heed to the words 'special treatment' when he made his way to his proper seat. Akihiko's brows furrowed as he flipped the sheet of paper to see the image, clearly not getting something he probably should.

He himself could tell that it was a candid photo of the volleyball club, but no matter how long he stared at it, he couldn't understand why it was worth anybody's 500 yen.

* * *

**6/23 – Tu**

**Lunch Break**

**Ladies' Room, Gekkoukan High School**

Yukari sighed in aggravation as she stepped into the ladies' toilet, lucky to be its only occupant. Junpei had been carelessly walking around with Tomochika, without looking ahead and ungracefully bumped into her—with his _sandwich_. Now she was facing one of the mirrors, and was looking at the reflection of her pink cardigan.

She had no idea what kind of sauce (or ketchup) the capped male had smothered his sandwich with (she was too preoccupied), but whatever it was, it made an _ugly, brownish red stain_. She grunted as she did everything to get rid of the blotch, only to have come out as unsuccessful.

"_Why_ now?"

Yukari muffled out a restrained gruntle of exasperation. Surely people would notice it.

"This is _hopeless_!"

She finally admitted surrender and dropped any more attempt to salvage the article of clothing by just taking it off. Flipping out her phone, she sees that she still has half an hour left of her lunch break. She steps into one of the cubicles, figuring that she might as well relieve herself now instead of later. She was already there anyway.

"_That clingy bitch..!"_

Yukari heard the rasping of footsteps followed by a loathsome, feminine hiss.

"_Seriously, did you see the look on her face? That skank was touching him!"_

"_She doesn't belong with senpai."_

Another said.

_'Trouble girls,'_ Yukari thought. _'Could her day get _any _more horrible?'_

"_Of course _she_ doesn't!"_

A loud slam.

_"I'll _never_ allow it."_

"_You said that she's already going out with someone, right? There's this rumor, too.."_

_'What rumor?' _The archer frowned._ 'What are they talking about?'_

"_She's been hanging out with that Hasegawa bitch, the girl who went out__ with _Miyu's_ boyfriend."_

"_Of _all_ people! Miyu is _so_ crazy about her boyfriend!"_

"_I know right? She was _so_ mad, they say she went to the clinic and slapped Hasegawa._ Everyone_ was talking about it."_

"That's_ for being stupid and flirting with a taken guy."_

The first one justifies, tone milder.

_"Huh, but it won't be just a slap for _her if she_ doesn't leave Sanada-senpai alone."_

_'Akihiko-senpai..?'_

It made sense now!

The girls were few of the many who desperately fantasized about Sanada-senpai, to the point that they would do _anything and everything_ keep other girls from getting near him. It wasn't the first time Yukari encountered something like this, but it still didn't make her feel less ill towards girls like them.

"_You don't mean—"_

A gasp.

_"Ahahaha! Could it be that _you're _responsible for spreading that rumor?"_

The chatter continued, fading into nothing as footsteps were heard again.

'_Despicable!_' Yukari seethed.

_'How can they be so conceited!'_

Her eyes were fixed in a distant stare as she walked out of the toilet.

She slung her cardigan over an arm with the stained part upright. She was well aware of how vain and bitter she was capable of being at some times, but _never_ in her sane and sober mind had she thought of partaking in those kinds of nasty things.

She gritted her teeth in irritation. She might as well let her clothes be ruined, than tarnish a person's image. Why would anyone do something _so undesirable_ to a person who did not deserve it?

* * *

**7/1 – We**

**After School**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Uhh.. hey, Fuuka?"

Fuuka saved her file and placed the laptop to her side upon recognizing the anxiety on Junpei's face.

"Oh, Junpei-kun." She acknowledged, and watched him as he threw a few scattered glances here and there, seemingly unsure of what he was doing.

"May I be of any help?"

"_Yes_! Definitely, you can!" He responded almost too excitedly, surprising Fuuka.

He abruptly stopped himself by tightly covering his mouth. He quickly looked back and forth, and checked every visible nook and cranny of the lounge that he could.

Minako had gone out to Paulownia Mall—he knew because she had said so herself, and not because he was stalking her or anything—so without anything interesting to do outdoors, Junpei decided that it was best to head straight back to the dorm.

He was sure that Yukari wasn't going to go home just yet, for he'd seen her talking to some senior guy. He saw—no, _peeked—_into the student council room to make sure that Mitsuru-senpai was still in there, being busy with whatever was keeping her busy along with the other members of the council.

"All clear." He heaved to himself.

Junpei then remembered not checking Akihiko-senpai's whereabouts. He didn't bother to confirm whether the boxer was still inside the campus. Junpei slightly lifted his cap and scratched the top of his head. Come to think of it, the male senior didn't even worry him one bit anymore. Junpei was beginning to take Akihiko less seriously, and he wasn't sure whether that in itself should be considered as a bad thing or not.

"Uhm, you see..."

He coughed a pretentious cough when he caught the inquisitive stare that the girl was giving him.

A cold bead of sweat rolled its way down his temple, and he took a deep breath before he dived in front of Fuuka, lowering himself to his knees and clasping his hands together.

"Fuuka-chan! I _really _need your help!"

"W-well," Fuuka smiled nervously, moving to add a little more space between the kneeling Iori and her own sitting form.

"What is it you need help with, Junpei-kun?"

"Please don't tell Mitsuru-senpai, okay? No, don't tell _anyone_, okay? _Promise _me first!"

Fuuka attempted to ask why but the junior insisted that she promise before he would say anything else.

"Okay."

Junpei sighed in relief and raised to support himself with one knee.

"I trust you Fuuka, and you can handle gizmos better—so I'll tell you."

"You...you know the command room, right?" Junpei asked, with eyes almost capable of burning holes right through her.

"You know how to handle the stuff there, right?"

She nodded, trying to avoid having to stare back at his heavy gaze.

"Yes."

She gulped quietly.

"Mitsuru-senpai has oriented me."

Junpei startled her by placing his hands on her shoulders, she failed to look away from him this time.

"Anyway, listen, I..."

With every word, his voice became softer in volume and his head hung lower. Next thing she knew, he was mumbling the most important thing he was supposed to tell her and she was only able to see the movement of his lips.

"I can't hear you." She said to him, and it made him draw back.

Junpei used his hands to cover his face, like how some children hide theirs when they've done something they shouldn't.

"Itried playingmygame—

inthecommandroom—

becauseIthought—

itwasawesome—

toplaywithabigscreen—"

"Uhm! Slower, please."

Fuuka grimaced at the flood of words.

"I said I tried playingInnocentSin— withthebigscreen— inthecommandroom—"

"_Junpei-kun_!"

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry_!"

Junpei's voice sounded more and more desperate.

"It's just...I..."

It was obvious that he dreaded every second that presently passed.

"Tried. Playing. My. Game. In. The. Command. Room."

"And...what happened after you tried playing it?" Fuuka asked, realizing that he wasn't going to say any more.

His hands slid down slowly, revealing the doomed expression on his face.

"I-I...Oh man—I think I broke it."

Fuuka gasped.

"You _broke _the—"

"_Ssshhh!_"

Junpei hurriedly placed his hand over her mouth before she could finish.

"_Not so loud!_" He whispered, throwing each corner of the area a dirty look. He pointed towards the wall behind them.

"Those_ have ears, you know?_"

He sighed before freeing Fuuka, clasping both hands together again to plead.

"I swear, I _promise _I'll repay you—I'll even do your week's worth of homework! Please _oh please _just _save_ me!"

"I understand," She gave Junpei a small smile and a nod.

"I'll check it right now."

* * *

**Command Room**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Oh?"

Fuuka tilted her head to her side to inspect the wiring of the power source closer. She had already checked on everything, _thrice._

"Sooo, how is it Fuuka-chan?" Junpei asked and stuck his head through the half-opened door.

He decided to stay away from a considerably safe distance, and was still fidgeting with the hem of his clothes.

He refused to go inside the 'scene of the crime', saying that if the computer was indeed broken, then the Kirijo heiress will definitely conduct an investigation for whoever was responsible. He didn't want his fingerprints to be all over the place, he said, but Fuuka thought that doing so would probably be pointless. Even without going in the command room, his fingerprints would have already been all over it.

"Junpei-kun?"

She called out to him as she pulled herself up and dusted herself. She took a glance at the idle screen of the command room and concluded her findings. Even the operating system continued to work flawlessly.

"Everything's fine."

"_S-Seriously_?"

Fuuka gestured to him that all was clear, and an unfathomable expression dawns upon Junpei's face instead of a grin.

"You're not...kidding me or anything, right?

"Of course not!"

She laughed at the weird contortion that was the 2-F junior's face.

Relief and happiness quickly numbed Junpei's mind. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or to smile first—he felt _too great_ about not receiving any punishment from the feminist senior. He _wasn't going to be executed_! Out of impulse, he pushed the door out of his way and rushed to the unprepared Fuuka, who was half way through letting out a shriek.

"Fuuka-chan! _You da man_!" He exclaimed happily, not yet fully aware of the hug he had suddenly trapped her into.

"J-Junpei-kun—"

Junpei was quick to let her go and pulled himself away but still kept Fuuka firmly in position by placing his hands on her shoulders again.

"Let's go for some ramen! It'll be my treat!"

He genuinely smiled at her—very much like a child, she thought.

"Come on, whaddaya say? Oh, don't worry! I'll still do your homework!"

"You don't really have to.."

Though Fuuka tried to convince him, Junpei had already made up his stubborn mind.

"It's fine! Sheesh, don't be so shy Fuuka-chan. I treat Minako for some too you know? Heh, come to think of it, you should eat out with us some time!"

She hadn't noticed that he was already on his way out, all too enthusiastic about ramen.

"Wait for me, okay? I'll just go get my stuff. Seriously, wait, okay?"

Fuuka just nodded, hearing 'ramen, ramen!' being chanted as Junpei disappeared from her view.

* * *

**7/2 – Th**

**After School**

**Paulownia Mall**

**Velvet Room**

"Life." Igor said, breaking the silence that hovered thickly in the velvet-clad room.

"What do you think is it about?" He asked, carefully drawing out a card from the ones laid out in front of him.

He knew that Theodore watched him with the same aureate eyes his sisters possesses, but unlike Elizabeth, there was still something he had yet to grasp. Something he was unsure of.

"For humans, it brings about suffering. They dread the coming of the day that they die."

Igor turned the card in his hand and revealed the somber delineation that was the Death arcana.

"Fearing the inevitable, some would consider it foolish. Death is the consequence of having been born, it declares that one has lived. But humans do not dwell on the thought of it for long, and they discover reasons why they must keep on living."

He placed it back and drew another.

"They find other humans who become the meaning of their lives."

_The Lovers._

Just like the first, Igor returned the tarot, and this time he asked for Theodore to choose one.

"What is the reason that you live?"

He turned to look at his assistant, who searched in his eyes for the answer he thought Igor wanted to hear.

"Why is it that you continue to live?"

"It is to assist you, Master Igor." Theodore answered, only halfway through understanding what it was that the master intended for him to see.

"Remember this very well," Igor waved a hand, and all but the card in his assistant's possession disappeared.

"Those who set foot in the Velvet Room are in search for themselves." He said at last to the youngest of the velvet siblings as he joined his hands together under his chin.

_'Those who set foot in the Velvet Room are in search for themselves.' _Theodore repeated to himself as he looked down to see the card his fate had led him to draw.

"I see.."

He tucked the card away and concealed the compendium.

He followed the unchanging gaze of his master, he himself waiting as well for the near arrival of their special guest as the familiar light soon engulfed the room. The blinding moment was brief, before revealing the dazed Arisato Minako in her earthly, school uniform.

"Hello!" She greeted them cheerily the moment she saw Theodore smiling at her arrival.

"Oh, uhm, am I interrupting anything?"

He thought that it was quite adorable how she was yet to notice a _very noticeable_ leaf gracing the top of her head.

"Nonsense."

Theodore dismissed, and it made him satisfied to be able to make her smile a little more. He walked up to her and offered to take her hand, the way a prince would.

"Well then, shall we be on our way?"

Minako nodded eagerly.

"I'll be borrowing him for a while, excuse us for now Igor."

She bowed to the seated man before taking Theo's arm and dragging him off, exiting the same way she entered.

_'Oh Elizabeth, your brother is changing.'_

Igor called forth the compendium and chuckled, seeing the card previously drawn.

_'Soon he will find his _own_ reason as well.'_

_The Fool._

* * *

**7/7 – Tu**

**Dark Hour**

**Hotel Champ de Fleurs**

"Look at me."

Minako could hear him say.

"Senpai?"

Was this real?

She could see his perpetual frown, see the way the corner of his lips quirked when he would attempt to smile. When she stared right back into his fierce gaze, she found that they were the same ones from last October. They were the eyes she recognized, that recognized _her_, and they had not changed.

"You don't have to think of _anything_ else."

He whispered in her ear with that voice that was low, husky, and she never did quite have the exact word for his voice, but nevertheless it _always_ felt like _chocolate_ on gravel. It was smooth, and thick, and it made not shutting the world out too difficult to do, because she was stuck there wanting _more_.

Every time she silently screamed 'no', her lips betrayed her and she breathed out '_yes_'. She wanted more, more, _more_.

The details were _all there_,_ too_ accurate and _too_ tangible and her existence could not possibly deny something that she had wanted for so long.

This was real, this _must _be real.

_She wanted this to be real._

* * *

**That which cannot be felt is merely a dream.**

* * *

_'Shinjiro.'_

She wondered if her wish must've somehow slipped through her lips, because after crying herself to sleep after so many nights she was _finally _back in his arms. He was alive and she wasn't the Great Seal and everything was just too perfect that she _knew, knew _that if this man wasn't a ghost then she was still simply dreaming.

Her mind was telling her to stop, that she was just hurting herself, but her heart was not going to have any of it _because they both wanted this _and Minako could only bite her lip. The bite hurt but she didn't stop, because she wasn't convinced until her lip started to bleed and _then _she just knew that it _wasn't as real as she wanted it to be_.

She thought she could be satisfied with just having him there. She thought that he'd always be in a place where she could see him. She thought that he would stay until everything turned back to normal and she would have the chance to_ tell him_, to _let him know._

_'_Please_, let me hear you.'_

She wanted to tell him, but the words refused to come out and she only sobbed. She would've traded _anything_ to stay with him. _Everything to keep him._

She wanted to be selfish, and _this _was Kami's punishment for her.

* * *

** The present is all we have.**

* * *

"What's wrong?" Shinjiro asked, with that same expression he had when she asked him last October if he was okay and he only said that he was tired.

_'What's wrong?'_

Minako weakly and bitterly laughed, and her gaze fell on the leather watch wrapped around her wrist, it was when he tried to take it off that she surrendered.

_'You can't be real.'_

She smiled from underneath him, and slowly shook her head. She reached out to him and pulled him back, closer than he pulled away.

"Minako—"

"This is _just_ another dream."

She held the masculine frame of his face in her cold hands, and touched the white band-aid above his left eye.

"I love _you_, senpai."

She let her voice crack and she tried to stop herself from speaking anymore but the words she wanted to say were simply too sad and just too many.

"But I _never_ got to tell you."

She ran her hand through the shaggy hair and twirled a lock between her fingers. She watched as the brown turned into grey and her vision started to blur, because it was already too late too when she realized she was about to cry.

"Kami _knows _I love you."

Their gazes locked, and she could now see him _clearly_ this time, see how his eyes appear like orbs of trapped mist instead of rich fertile soil.

"I'm sorry."

The first streak ran down to stain her flustered cheeks.

"I'm sorry, senpai..."

Her smile faltered and quivered at Akihiko's confusion. She couldn't force herself to fake a smile and stop them this time. She brought her hands to cover her face, ashamed of herself and the fact that she was letting someone else, someone who _wasn't Shinjiro_, see her cry.

"I _wanted_ to save you."

The tears just kept pouring, and it made her think that all those times she'd held back were useless. She could handle anything, but _this _she'd never be able to handle. She never understood why life was always persistent with finding ways to screw with her.

"I really did_, _I _swear _I did—"

She was sick of losing people and _being constantly reminded_ of it.

"I did _everything _to save you. But still..I _couldn't_."

She was getting sick of lying and telling herself it doesn't hurt—that if she ignored it, it would possibly hurt less.

"I'm s-sorry, I'm...sorry..."

She was getting sick of herself doing it.

* * *

**"_I'm sorry."_**

The two words he dreaded to hear were responsible of breaking him out of his reverie. They were words that mocked him for being weak—for not being able to do anything when he was needed.

"_I'm sorry, senpai..."_

Over and over, like a prayer she was begging for Kami to hear.

"Arisato.."

He had never seen her like this. Upset, helpless—a total mess.

"_I wanted to _save you._"_

Her words continued to take him back to one of the darkest nights of his life, of heavy smoke and lingering images of a blazing old house, with children here and there wailing but with no one to hold and comfort them. Akihiko remembered being one of the kids there. Remembered being covered with blisters, being beyond helpless as he screamed out his sister's name in despair.

"_I really did, I _swear _I did."_

The bubbly girl that laughed at his strange habits, the one that made him look away when she stared at him with her bigger eyes. The girl he always watched over, and never allowed Shadows to touch—she was breaking apart in front of him.

"_But I _couldn't_."_

_'Like me.'_

"_I did everything to save you."_

Akihiko felt anger rush through his veins at the memory of Miki.

_'To have the person you care about so much slip right through your fingers...'_

Still angry for not being able to do anything, and more for knowing that Arisato has experienced the same.

"_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."_

"It's _not_ your fault." He told her, hoping she could hear his sober words the same way he could hear her heart's honest cries.

"Arisato, _it's not your fault_."

He held her trembling hands in his, and kept them away from hurting herself any further. Her eyes have become swollen, and her face was flustered beyond belief for having cried so much.

_"Akihiko-senpai."_

He doesn't speak a word when Arisato tries to smile in an attempt to put her mask back on.

_"I'm.. I'm sorry you have to see me like this."_

But he was well aware that it had already become too heavy to bear, and too broken for her to use it again, so instead of watching her try to pick herself up, he wrapped her safely in a tight embrace.

"You.." He trailed off, not fully knowing the proper thing to say.

Akihiko was confused. He was seeing a part of him he never knew was there. A part of him he never knew he had. He didn't want to see this, but he didn't want to leave her alone.

"...You don't have to say anything."

His hands only knew how to be ruthless, to be fast. His were hands used to destroy Shadows and eliminate those who stood in his way until they couldn't get back up anymore, but they were the only hands that he could use to keep her from truly falling apart.

Maybe he was not the one she could see right now, and maybe he wasn't the one to piece her back together, but maybe he could be the one to make sure that all the pieces were still there.

* * *

**7/13 – Mo**

**Morning**

**Gekkoukan High School**

Minako pinched her cheeks hard. She did not want to fall asleep in Ms. Terauchi's class, but she could not do anything about her yawning. People were busy being bitter and angry with each other, and she knew that she couldn't be at peace.

She hadn't gone to Hagakure for her favorite bowl, nor Chagall for her cake. She didn't feel like sleeping nor eating. She'd take a few naps, and munch just for the sake of having food in her stomach—because food simply isn't the same without someone to eat with.

It wasn't long before the bell rang and signaled what every student hoped for everyday—dismissal. Along with everyone else, Junpei left too, without muttering a goodbye to her. It made her wonder why she had to experience being alienated all over again.

"_What are you trying so hard for?"_

"_I brought that CD you asked for."_

"_Really? Thanks so much!"_

There was the loud stomping of feet and tides of other students eager to escape the dreaded classroom. The only ones left were her, the ones assigned to clean, and the ones who were still planning what they would do for the day.

"_I said leave me alone!"_

"_Where's the mop? Hey! I need the mop!"_

Minako watched Kenji shout from the platform, who frowned at the late responses he got from his other fellow cleaners. Everyone seemed restless, and she knew why. Exams were going to start tomorrow, and she could only guess that the majority of the class haven't even opened their notes yet.

With a heavy sigh, she decided that she needed a break. She wanted a break, so she would give herself a break.

* * *

**After School**

**Iwatodai Strip Mall**

**Hagakure Ramen**

"What would you like to order?"

"Your biggest bowl, please." Minako smiled at the kind daughter of the owner of Hagakure.

Fuyumi blinked and craned her neck as if to look for something. She huffed and frowned at the Gekkoukan student.

"Hey, you're not with him today?"

Upon realizing that she was looking for Junpei, Minako meekly laughed.

"It'll be a while before we eat together again."

"Aww. Things'll get better, dont'cha worry!"

The taller female gave her a pat and a huge smile.

"Now let me get that beef bowl for ya."

Minako bowed in gratitude and sighed once Fuyumi was a good distance away from her.

_'I'm going to be productive,'_ She told herself.

She dug into her bag and took her notes out. She decided that she might as well help herself and study while she could. She was going to give herself some time alone to think.

She went and checked her phone as well, half-hoping that Junpei would ask her about previous lectures. She found messages from Yukari and Saori but none from her best friend. She didn't want to feel any worse than she already did, so she put the phone down on the table and slid deeper into her chair.

If that's how Junpei wanted it, then who was she to complain, right? It's not like they made an oath to always talk to each other, and she knew that, but still she felt awful. Could anyone blame her?

Minako ignored the phone when it started to vibrate again, telling her that she'd received another message. She puffed her cheeks and scolded herself to not expect anything. She should be tired of all the disappointments by now, but it was her being 'all-heart' that has gotten her through all of this before, so it was her being 'all-heart' that she was going to use to finish it all again.

* * *

**7/13/10 6:06 PM**

**Fr:** Sanada Akihiko

** Sub:** Are you feeling better?

I hope you are.

Exams are coming up. Good luck.

* * *

Minako felt guilty.

He worried about her, and the message just proved it, yet all she'd been doing is avoiding having to spend time with just the two of them, ever since the event at Shirakawa Boulevard. She didn't have the courage to face was afraid of what he might be thinking, now that he'd seen her cry at the wrong time, at the wrong place. She was afraid of confrontation and the possibility that if Akihiko somehow brought it up, she'd end up wetting his shirt again.

'Akihiko-senpai.' She bit her lower lip.

She heard that the seniors were busy not only with academics, but also with college entrance exams. Akihiko was juggling a lot of things, just like her, but it was admirable how he managed to keep his emotions in check.

"Order up!"

Fuyumi came back moments later and carefully placed the huge bowl of serving in front of Minako. It instantly stole the attention of some guys for its absurdity.

"Don't mind them, a girl should eat whenever she wants to eat! Now, cheer up, okay?"

"Yeah."

Minako nodded in agreement, her own smile returning.

"Yeah, I should!"

* * *

**7/18 – Sa**

**Early Morning**

**Gekkoukan High School**

"Huh? Dude, you look like you've been dumped."

Kenji poked at Junpei, adding something about looking like a panda.

"_Ohhh _could it be Arisato-chan?"

"_Shut up_, you! It's still too early to be annoying, geez!"

Junpei growled at him and started to walk faster, but Kenji easily caught up to him.

"_Holy sh_—you didn't deny it!"

His classmate ran ahead to stop in front of the capped male and stopped the latter in turn as well. With widened eyes, Kenji grabbed his friend and shook him with excitement.

"It's her, right? So, what happened? Did you fight? Is she single now?"

"_Single_?"

Exasperated, Junpei pushed him with enough force to get him out of the way, but not enough to send him rolling down the pavement.

What did they see Minako as? Some_ girl_ they could easily pickup?

"Get the hell off my back, man!"

He yelled when Kenji just kept on trailing after him. He was soon caught in a headlock by the latter and could only grunt in his place.

"_Seriously _Kenji, _what_ the hell?"

"What the hell's up with _you_, man? It's like some girl transferred her PMS to you!" Kenji roared at him out of the blue.

"If you're pissed, you _should never_ take it out on a girl, you know?" He scolded Junpei before letting him go.

"_Tch_, _who's_ taking out _what_ on a girl?" Junpei scoffed and kicked a pebble out of his way as he watched Kenji run up to his 'beloved sensei'.

It was true that he'd been more irritable lately, but he didn't remember yelling at a girl. Besides, who was Kenji to tell him that? Damn dude didn't know what he was going through anyway!

Checking his phone's clock, he saw that he'd be arriving at school earlier than he had anticipated. It was his whim to start going to school earlier than his usual, because then he wouldn't have to see Minako nor anyone from the dorm on his way. If he went later, it would be better if he didn't show up at all.

_'Minako.'_

He frowned.

_'Did.. was he talking about her?'_

He took some time to think about what was happening to him last night and he came to acknowledge things that he had been refusing to for a while now, one of them was the grown chasm between him and Minako. They had not spoken to each other for a while, and not being around her plunged his world into a pool of boredom and loneliness.

He went around walking and eating ramen by himself, and suddenly he realized that his favorite meal didn't taste the same without her.

Since their trip from the hotel, all he had thought about was how much better she was in everything compared to him. He admitted to himself last night that he had been terribly jealous of her—of how everyone thinks that she was so special and he was not.

He wanted her to feel how inferior he felt, he almost wanted her _gone__._ It was _him _who smacked some distance between them, and of course, being the good friend that she was, wanted to know what was wrong. She tried to talk to him, but what did _he_ do? He kept _shoving_ her away.

'What kind of a friend does _that _make me?' Junpei thought bitterly, remembering how much of a jerk he's been to her lately.

'Just _what _kind of friend _am_ I?'

* * *

**Morning**

**2-F Classroom**

'Hm?'

Junpei took a quick glance at the class clock before checking to the newly received mail on his phone. More than five minutes left. He figured that that was more than enough.

* * *

**7/18/10 7:12**

**Fr:** Arisato Minako

**Sub:** Exams!

Ne, Junpei! Do your best!

Good luck!

* * *

He stared at the mobile screen with widened eyes.

_'What the hell, Mina-chan...'_

He felt his eyes water.

Or was that just his sweat that got into his eyes? Oh Kami, how could he have been so stupid? He whipped his head up to look at his auburn-haired seatmate. Minako busied herself with assisting another classmate with one of their more difficult lessons, and although he waited, Junpei never got the chance to talk to her for the teacher had come carrying the vile test papers when she finished explaining.

"_Keep everything else! Don't you guys know how to keep this room neat? The test's starting!"_

Junpei found himself having to suppress a smile. He'll suck it up and give Minako the apology she rightfully deserves, and if that doesn't work, he'd drag her off to Hagakure and treat her to as much ramen as she can consume. Yep, that sounded like a good plan to him.

So what if she was good at everything else? It should never have been a problem. If he can't be good at anything else, he'll make it all up by being the best friend she'll ever have.

* * *

**End of chapter.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! **And **belated Merry Christmas**!

It's been one full year and a couple of months since I've started this fic, and so much have happened, I can't believe it! I'll be forever thankful for the things I've experienced in 2011. I hope you guys are enjoying the holidays to the fullest, but don't forget to do your homework if you have any, okay?

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to review, too. Thank you for reading, may 2012 be good to us all. :D


	7. Track 6: My Tomorrow

**Disclaimer:**I do not own the series, nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. All rights belong to Atlus.

**To Michi Heru:** Hey! I hope you're still around to be able to read this. I appreciate the extra effort! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ahh, my grammar and what-nots were again pacified by **KizunaOtakuArashi**! Thank heavens for people who can help with those! Ah, also, the **awesome her** said, _"Also, tell your readers that I say hi, and that I hope they're enjoying the fic!"_

SO GUYS, hopefully you enjoy this one, and be sure to say hi to her, okay? (Take care on your trip, Kiz!)

* * *

From the valley of buildings, the wind blows through  
On a night when even stars disappeared  
My clenched hands are trembling  
But I'm looking up at the sky

* * *

**7/18 – Sa**

**Evening**

**Port Island Station Outskirts**

Minako pursed her lips tightly sealed, recalling the events of the day and keeping herself from replaying a certain one in her mind. She didn't know what to think first. She would have had a better grip on things now, but she'd forgotten coming across Ken—she was thrown completely off-guard. She only remembered looking like an idiot while he scrutinized her with his younger, and distant gaze.

"Oi." Shinjiro frowned from not too far away beside at the mumbling Minako as he eyed Michi from underneath the girl's fingers. She dared to busy herself by thinking of someone else while she was with him?

"Are you ignoring me?" He half-growled and still she gave him no response.

She was off in a hopelessly deep daze, it was fairly easy to tell. "What a troublesome girl." He exhaled loud enough to hopefully reach her world.

He would've waited for her to snap out of it herself if only the cat wasn't getting ready to dig its claws into something too near—her hand, preferably. Michi then started to hiss, and it made Shinjiro jump to his feet and step in. With one of his big hands, he pulled the spaced out Minako away from the aggravated feline before it could come into contact with her flesh.

"**Idiot!**" Shinjiro's impulsive insult and the sudden force broke the SEES leader out of her trance. "Be more careful!"

"Ah," She didn't say anything else as Michi angrily hissed her last before scampering away to leave them alone. She cast her red irises down at the pavement and muttered a quiet 'sorry'.

"You—" Shinjiro gritted and glared at her as if she had escaped death by a mere hair strand before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Forget it." He clamped his mouth shut and was quick to let her go.

What else would he tell her? That she was being stupid? He took a deep breath and drew back, as if longer physical contact with the girl was enough to burn his skin. Why was he suddenly upset? Wait, no, _screw_ that, he was _not_ upset. He was just surprised for a second there. He realized later that maybe he should've let Michi bring her back to Earth, it was the girl's own damn fault for spacing out while petting a cat as moody as Michi anyway.

"Look, just be careful." Minako nodded meekly, and dipped her head in an apologetic bow—a gesture she often did around him.

Shinjiro's frown deepened as he questioned just how a girl like her could possibly stand as SEES' leader. No matter how he looked at her, she did not look like the type who could easily give out orders to Akihiko. She was a small girl, much _smaller_ than the imposing character he'd been used to that was Mitsuru. She looked like she belonged more in a cooking club, not in SEES.

She wasn't intimidating.

The idea of asking Akihiko about her had crossed his mind quite a few times, but he always fought against it. If he did, Akihiko would know she sneaked out at night. He'd know that Shinjiro knew that she wandered in some dark place every now and then, and the boxer would then know where else to find him. Then there would be two idiots he'd be looking after, and Shinjiro didn't want to deal with that. He didn't want any of Akihiko's crap questions either. They made him feel like he was getting a fresh wound poked at hard.

Minako appeared to almost laugh, and it made him think whether he was voicing out his thoughts or she really was _that_ weird. He shortly noticed the new patch placed on her leg when she went and leaned on the graffiti-filled wall. It almost went unnoticed, but he had the inconvenient habit to notice little things. His gaze intensified yet again into an almost-glare, except that he wasn't directing it at the pale girl this time.

"Why do you keep coming back?"

"Why are you asking?" Minako stared at him, with an expression he couldn't entirely read, before looking down at the asphalt beneath her feet.

Shinjiro scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You don't have to go and force yourself to come here, and Michi's big enough to help herself."

"You can stop coming here." Minako just smiled at him, not saying anything at all.

Did she think that he expected her to keep quiet about the Dark Hour? That she had to say that she was okay because Mitsuru appointed her as 'leader'? That she had to put up with all of it and 'act tough'? He just wanted to hear what she had to _really_ say. He did not want her to keep it all to herself and tell him it was okay. Shinjiro expected her to be mad. He wanted her to say that she was. Pout, frown, glare—_anything_ at all.

If she thought that she didn't have to tell him anything, then it was fine. Her business was none of his, but he wanted to say that if she was feeling like shit, then it was okay to take a break and drop the smile.

He wanted her to be _real._

* * *

**7/20 – Mo**

**Daytime**

**Kirijo Yakushima Mansion**

Minako could just stare in awe the moment they reached the Kirijo vacation house. It was fine and grand, just as how she remembered it. She had only seen castles and the like in magazines and story books her aunt used to read to her. The structure before her, it wasn't exactly a castle, and it was the closest to one that she'll get, but it was beautiful—still so beautiful. It was definitely suited to accommodate a real-life princess, like Mitsuru.

She started to wonder what Mitsuru's actual home was like. Did her home have gates made of gold or silver? Did it have walls so tall, that they could reach up to the height of the clouds? Minako began to hum an old children's song as she looked ahead, up to where the beach and the horizon appeared to connect. Yakushima's shore was as beautiful as the first time that she had seen it, with its calm, blue waters and clear azure skies. Come night time and the view would become dotted with stars. It would be _much_ more beautiful then.

"Psst, hey." Junpei elbowed the still Akihiko back to reality and momentarily dropped his bags to poke his nose in things he shouldn't have been poking his nose in. "Whatcha lookin' at?" He asked the senior, who seemed so lost in a daze.

"What am I looking at..?" Akihiko repeated, as if unaware of what he had been doing.

"Well, duh," Junpei looked at him as if _he _was the dumb one. "_Sheesh_, senpai!" The junior egged him on. He hadn't aborted his plan to do 'research' on the golden boy just yet.

The boxer looked down at his now glove-less hands and at the figure that stood gazing off at the view. "Something beautiful." He simply said with a small, unconscious smile as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He stretched out his arms before patting the junior's shoulder. "Let's go and help with these." He told the confused Junpei and picked up some of the luggage before following one of the maids.

* * *

**Yakushima Beach**

"It suits you so well, Minako-chan." Fuuka beamed at her when she had finally caught up to her and Yukari at the mansion's doors. "You look very cute."

"Thank you." Minako awkwardly smiled. She never did get a lot of compliments while growing up. "That's you, though, Fuuka-chan."

They talked about trivial things on their way to the shore—mostly school related. From the weird noises in the lab to the guys in the kendo team. Nobody wanted to open a topic that reminded them of the Dark Hour.

"Akihiko-senpai's looks are incredible." Yukari breathed, having caught the sight of the senior. "But..he's just so..odd sometimes, don't you think?" She slowed and leaned inconspicuously towards Minako.

"_Beautiful ladies!"_ The archer sighed as she heard the soft sound of feet against sand nearing them. Unfortunately, she was the nearest to him.

"They're like a couple." Minako giggled to Fuuka, who nodded in agreement. Junpei had gone off and started to shower Yukari with his unusual and uncomfortable compliments, in his own way, of course, which made the latter distance herself once again in disgust.

She was left alone when Yukari decided to put it upon herself to save the still timid Fuuka once she was freed from Junpei's perversion. She let them go, and preferred to watch them speak with Mitsuru who had just arrived.

An uneasy feeling squarely clashed with Minako's senses and it ripped her attention off the waves that clapped against the bright sand of the shore. 'Aigis!' She was anything but sure of the fact that Aigis had already located her, and the knowledge filled her mind with calm. She was going to see her soon! She felt the weight on her chest temporarily disappear, she could hardly wait.

She had been so caught up in the moment that it was already too late when she finally noticed Junpei.

"Gotcha!" He had crept behind her and had successfully used his bigger-than-normal float ring like a hook—his fish being her. "You're coming with us, Minako!"

"Eh? W-Wait!" Minako flailed for her dear life as she was dragged brashly towards the cold blue.

"Jun—_Junpeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeei!_" She screeched with a pitch high enough for Junpei's ears to continue ringing even five minutes after he had thrown the girl into the water. She was coughing and choking on air when she emerged, thankfully alive, and it made Junpei laugh whole-heartedly. He didn't even _ask_ first if she knew how to swim (and good thing that she did), hell, the possibility of her drowning never crossed his mind at all. She continued to groan for a couple of more seconds, trying to stop her eyes from stinging. Her eyes watered and reddened, and her nose hurt from the water that she'd unintentionally consumed.

The floatie emerged beside her, and its printed smile laughed at her with so much mockery. It was horrible.

"Junpei, you jerk.." She huffed, but deep in her heart she didn't mean it. Probably. She saw white once her eyes got better and clarity came back to her vision.

"You okay?" Akihiko asked with genuine concern.

"Eh?" Was her automated response. "I'm okay—" He leaned closer to better inspect Minako's flushed face, failing to hear her say she was okay from all the white noise Junpei made with the waves. Awkward, she not only avoided his gaze, she also (involuntarily) pushed him (gently) away. Or at least, as mighty as the water let her.

Minako caught the hurt expression that he failed to mask and felt her heart drop. She didn't mean to push him away. "Wait, Sanada-sen—"

_Splash! _Junpei reappeared and playfully slapped the surface of the water towards their direction before she could finish. Annoyed, but not yet completely mad, Minako planned to pull on the former's leg, just he'd know how it felt like when he abruptly pulled her in, but someone had already beat her into doing it. It was worrisome that Junpei would be getting worse than she'd planned, but a few water games never severely hurt anyone.

That was what Yukari told her anyway when she kidnapped Minako off for some girls-only time.

"_Damn it!_ _What are _you _so mad for?" _Junpei threw the despicable ring at Akihiko, and Minako, now watching a good distance away, could only imagine it making a 'squeak!' before bouncing off the boxer and landing on the water before awkward silence.

* * *

**7/21 – Tu**

**Evening**

**Kirijo Yakushima Mansion**

Junpei quietly sulked.

He was surrounded by such magnificent ladies, yet the romantic aspect of his life continued to look very dim. He should've gotten a harem by now, but _nooo. _He was now more convinced that there was almost no such thing as 'impossible'. Especially after he had witnessed another thought-to-have-been-impossible earlier that day—Akihiko-senpai's failure to pickup girls. It seemed that girls weren't at all vulnerable to the senior's charm, and that Akihiko's allure worked a hundred times better if he wasn't consciously trying.

"What are you looking so creepy for?" Yukari's insults always seemed to bypass his selective hearing and plunge deeper in his mind than any other lesson can.

"Minako finally got mad at you?" He scowled at the delighted expression she wore and scooted further back into the awesome couch, as if the act would make her leave him alone.

"_No_." He grumbled, with legs sprawled out and cap taken off. "She never gets mad." He covered his mouth before his why'd-she-have-to-sit-beside-me-instead-of-leaving-me-alone sigh escaped his lips.

"Of course not." That's what she said, very unlikely compared to the things he'd made up in his head and the ones she normally said. She didn't say anything else, she just sat there quietly in contemplation, and he was thankful for that.

Things _had _been (a little) more awkward since the the last...

...Shadow...

Uh...thing.

He shifted slightly to be able to watch her from the corner of his eyes. He couldn't think of any reason why she would decide to spend time with him when she could go and find Minako for girl stuff. He scratched the back of his pretty-bald head. Did he do something 'annoying' again? No, probably not. All he did today was go chick-hunting with Akihiko-senpai (and we all know how that turned out).

"Thanks. For yesterday." He heard her mumble. It was faint, and he himself knew how flawed his hearing could be sometimes, but just in case Yukari never really said anything, he kept his own calm.

Junpei had forgotten how he depressingly watched Aigis' display of a robot 'knight' around Minako, and found every bit of his attention to have been held captive by the fair archer not-so-far-beside-him. Yukari was beautiful, and he'd known that fact after a few years of having watched her from a distance. More so when she wasn't busy with weaving hurtful things to throw at his face, and especially when she didn't walk around with a frown reserved exclusively for him.

_Gah_, it was simply unbelievably surprising how she hadn't threatened to scoop his eyes out yet because he'd been staring at her.

"Why?" Junpei swallowed, not at all nervously. "I mean, why thank _me_?" There was no way to take back all the words, and he dreaded how she didn't seem to take them in a desirable way, but there was absolutely no turning back now.

"N-Not that I'm saying you can't, but I..." He scratched an imaginary itch on the back of his head, and avoided the archer's sharp eyes. "I don't really remember doing anything special, you know?"

Yukari stared at him with a hawk's gaze, like she expected him to say something else. She was looking at him as if he was pretending not to know something, and Junpei hurriedly scurried through his memory to search for anything he could've done that involved her. He remembered the sauce-on-her-clothes, the hote—erm, _Dark Hour _incident, and many others that she would definitely be mad about, but he couldn't exactly find anything worth thanking him for.

He was confused, was she playing a joke on him?

"..Is that so?" Yukari slowly nodded without much of a readable expression, and the other junior wasn't so sure if that was worth worrying over.

"I see why you're friends with her." She said to him with a smile, before standing to give him the solitude he'd been praying to have, many minutes earlier.

Left to sulk by himself again, Junpei eyed the unoccupied space beside him and at the figure that walked away. She never looked back, and he was actually cool with that.

"That's it?" He questioned the innocent painting hanging above his head and cocked his head to the side. "No calling me Stupei?" Not that he wanted her to keep calling him that, but it was a nickname he'd grown comfortable with. Yukari was the only one allowed to call him by that, anyway.

Girls were confusing, and he wondered if the brunettes he knew just happened to be that _and_ charming at the same time.

* * *

**7/25 – Sa**

**After School**

**Gekkoukan High School**

"_**Freak."**_

Minako stopped and glanced around the hallway. There were both familiar and unfamiliar faces, all happy and excited about the start of the break away from school, all minding their own business and outing trips. She smiled at Yuko on her way out, she must've been waiting for Miyamoto again. Was she imagining things? She could've sworn that she'd heard something though.

"_Why are you—h-hey!"_

_Thud!_

Comprehension was slower to arrive than the pain that stabbed through Minako's side. Sliding doors of the laboratory and hardbound books invaded her perspective. She stumbled back like she'd been narrowly grazed by an arrow. Though she tried desperately to keep her stand, grasping nothing else but air, she inevitably lost her footing and met the floor—the other person who bumped onto her suffering the same albeit without the jolt of peripheral hurt. There was a soft groan as the papers scattered in the form of white rain, and the heavier books in a flurry of an abrupt storm.

"A..Ah..." Minako heaved, clutching and rubbing her side shortly before regaining the ability to gather herself.

Some stopped their chattering just to see what the commotion was all about, but none went out of their way to offer aid, except for Yuko who was the one who helped her up. The spectators lost interest, inferring that nothing else was going to happen and once again dispersed to continue their separate businesses.

"Are you alright?" The boy from another class immediately scooted over, bowing. She remembered him being in the Photography Club. "I didn't mean to—I'm really sorry."

"I'm fine." She waved with a clumsy smile. It wasn't so bad, and she'd experienced much worse.

"If that's you say, then okay." Yuko shrugged, seemingly less convinced but went along with it anyway. Keisuke wasn't at fault, she'd seen the whole thing (because Kazushi had already left without her, the little...), and it wasn't an accident either, but if Minako wasn't making a deal out of it, then why should she, right?

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Uhm, shouldn't we give Ken-kun a tour?" Fuuka quietly suggested and throwing a glance to the farther part of the lounge. "I wouldn't want him to get lost for his first week."

Mitsuru nodded in agreement and gazed over at the other senior in the dormitory. "Why don't you volunteer, Akihiko?" She asked him and completely ignored the changed glint in the boxer's eyes.

"It would be most proper for either you or Iori to introduce Amada to the essentials. You will be sharing the same floor after all." Akihiko frowned. Must Mitsuru always see _him _before anything else? He was great with kids, he'd been told before, but _Amada Ken _was different. Amada had the _potential—_he _saw _the same things Akihiko wished he _didn't. _It was troubling to think that they were leading him into entering the same ugly pit they were yet to fix.

"I have obtained the structure's floor plans. I am also able to navigate and usher A-ma-da-san." Aigis provided, reminding the rest of the members that she was less human and more robot with her artificial eyes and monotone voice. "I shall do so once permitted."

Akihiko didn't anymore listen, and indeed, the conversation soon died with or without his participation.

The Dark Hour, fighting Shadows—at one point or another, that hidden hour had become his life. It was a setting he probably wouldn't have changed, but it wasn't the same for Junpei, nor Yukari. _Kami_, why would life give a child his own twisted reason to do what they were doing?

"_What the hell are you fighting for?" _Shinjiro's had questioned him not too long ago, and if he had happened to be asked that ten years ago, he would've answered 'Miki' without hesitation.

It was natural, because everything he did, he did for her. Then she was lost, and he decided that he wanted 'power'. If he had the power he didn't possess, he wouldn't have needed to experience the loss. Years later he realized that power came in many forms and he'd lost sight of the one he was looking so hard for. He started to fight for 'himself', because though he'd come a long way, he was still there. Not far from where he'd left off, and holding onto nothing.

_'I don't know.'_

He watched Arisato approach Amada, with a smile brighter than the ones she'd given him. _'I don't know anymore.'_ Nothing said _'too late'_ like having his hands filled with the ashes of his only sister, and all he could do was scream.

"A-Akihiko-senpai!" He heard a gasp and found the pencil he'd been twirling just moments later now broken into two. "Are you okay, senpai?"

"Yeah." He nodded, senses numb as his gaze collided with Arisato's. _'_I _have _to be.' Unlike before, he was the one who broke the contact, because he still didn't understand what was wrong with him—if there really was _anything _wrong with him.

An hour later and the juniors had all gone upstairs, save for Arisato who announced that she'd be going out after having shown Amada around the dorm. Aigis started to move, with the intention of accompanying her but the girl had asked her to stay, requesting to guard Amada instead. He envied how it was a task that the latter immediately accepted and proceeded to fulfill. No questions, no doubts, no thoughts to possibly cause hindrance.

Aigis would've done anything for Arisato, and Akihiko resented how it reminded him too much of the past.

He caught the look Mitsuru had spared him. '_Are you going to stay here?'_ was spelled out in what her eyes told him, and it struck him how he'd grown so used to having her there that they didn't need words anymore to send messages across.

_'Are you sure you're going to stay here?' _He finally looked away, because he himself didn't know what he wanted to do.

_'Wait.'_

When he finally made his choice, Arisato had already disappeared along with the closing of the doors. His legs turned traitor and refused to move. It was the first time he wished for Iori to have been there, to give him the push he always said he never needed.

_'Take me with you.'_

* * *

**7/28 – Tu**

**Evening**

**Port Island Station Outskirts**

"She didn't come tonight either." Shinjiro mused as he arrived to the so-called cat haven. The alley was quiet, much like how it had been for more than a week. mainly because few knew this part of the station area, and there were even fewer who actually bothered to visit.

The other reason being that 'she' was the only one that disturbed the silence of the place, together with her illegitimate pet. He saw brunettes, he saw redheads, but he got no glimpse of a pale girl nor red eyes, and it was probably for the best that the alleys were Gekko-clean. She hadn't come by since the last time and it was useless to reflect whether she stopped dropping by because of something he said. It was bound to happen, sooner or later, and maybe he just expected that it was going to be 'later' rather than 'sooner'.

If she wouldn't be coming back anymore, then it was _freaking_ great.

He wouldn't have to worry shit about Strega seeing her. No more PMS-ing cat and no more being some high school student's chaperone. No more feeding cats with a girl he could actually talk to. No more being irritated at a girl who'd show up with a few bruises because she was 'helping people'. No more feeling at ease with someone who made an effort to talk to him even if he looked like someone 'improper'.

He simply wouldn't have to bother himself anymore with a girl whose name he never remembered to ask.

He got what he wanted, his short life couldn't be any more better.

Shinjiro dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a little pack. He placed one of its sticks between his lips and lit it, watching the smoke rise up to the starless, black carpet. He deeply breathed, letting the substance linger in his system before exhaling.

He remembered the time when he'd just picked up the habit and Akihiko found out. The boxer was furious, and they got into a brawl, but it was mostly Shinjiro letting Akihiko beat him until the latter was satisfied—because the Akihiko then didn't know how to vent. He didn't know how anger worked and kept it all in. Shinjiro knew Miki wouldn't have wanted that, so he decided he was going to be there to make sure her idiot brother kept his ass out of something he couldn't handle. Shinjiro was the one who always volunteered to do the hard stuff nobody would normally go ahead and accept, but truth be told, Akihiko was the closest thing he had to a family.

The things he did were things he didn't have the guts explain to Akihiko.

"No more reason to stay here." He finally said, almost half an hour later, crushing all that's left of the second cigarette against the gravel. Michi didn't need either of them to provide for her anymore, and it was about time that he stopped tolerating a girl who went out at night all by herself.

Simply no girl: no problem.

He didn't look forward to seeing her there, nor was she the reason that he kept coming back.

No.

_Never._

He just realized that waiting for someone who wasn't going to arrive was one of the stupid and disappointing things he'd ever done, so he took the first step to leave. He threw an imprudent glance behind him—because he wanted to make sure he wouldn't regret leaving that place. He stared at the dull and empty space with a stark glare.

A pair of yellow eyes stared right back at him, and they were gone the next second.

"What the hell?" He spat with utmost grace. Was it a cat? No.._no_, unless no one had bothered to tell him that cats grew as big as guys like him these days. It was the last time he'd be there and he was seeing things. Just _great_.

Waiting for a girl who didn't even know he was waiting for her was driving _him _insane.

* * *

**8/1 – Sa**

**Dark Hour**

**Amagi Inn**

"_**Nobody wants you."**_

You're lying

"_**Poor child, she's the only one left."**_

I…

"_**Look at her—she **_**must****_ be cursed."_**

No!

Minako sighed and curled lower down her futon, hoping that one hour would end soon. Nightmares were creeping up on her, and it didn't help that the room was dark, and it wasn't because she had accidentally stepped on the remote this time. There was not a single window that could provide her with the view of the nocturnal sky and the only source of light was the faint, red glow of the crosses fixated on the coffins that surrounded her. There were four of them in the room, three were caskets, and they all fit in there despite the room being intended to be occupied only by two.

She lived in a world nobody else knew.

Minako saw two of the three close together on one side and remembered how Yuko didn't let Kazushi leave. The pair of coffins must've been them. It was...cute in a perhaps twisted way and made Minako smile. Even if Kazushi could've just upped and left, he chose to stay with Yuko instead. And who knew if it was just because he only thought it was funny that she was afraid, or he plainly cared about her enough and more than Yuko would've admitted. He listened to everything she said, even if he didn't exactly agree.

Minako wondered if he and Junpei were friends. She had the feeling that they would get along well.

The welcome distraction that her thoughts gave her was short-lived, and she ultimately ended up tossing and turning as she waited for sleep. She'd gotten used to it anyhow—not getting the proper amount of sleep, that is. She reached out her hand to her right, but did not find the little stuffed animal that she forgot she didn't have with her. She pursed her lips tightly, hoping that Bunny-chan didn't feel as lonely the way she did and pulled the sheets up until they covered her head.

"Goodnight, my dear." A voice whispered, and it was the blue color of a crepuscule sea she saw before somnolence took her away.

Although she couldn't be sure if the room was darker, she was sure that she felt safer.

* * *

**8/6 – Th**

**Dark Hour**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

**Command Room**

"_What if it doesn't work?"_ The girl had asked him yesterday, and she did so with certainty that he hadn't seen for a long time.

It wasn't curiosity. No, not at all.

_'What if destroying the Shadows doesn't put an end to the Dark Hour?' _Neither Mitsuru nor Akihiko asked that in essence, so it intrigued him of the whys and the hows of the dear transferee's mind.

It was in the nature of man to cling onto anything that offered reason in a situation of turmoil or plain confusion. If man did not hold the answer with him, he would make one to ease his mind, and he would not dwell on the matter anymore. Akin to when one would ask, 'Where did the universe come from?', and he would think and think, until he would decide that there must be a 'God' who made everything. Man would've believed _anything _as long as he was put in a condition he had little understanding of_._

"Other Persona-users..." He contemplated, tapping on the surface of the aged furniture. It was interesting, but he was more focused on the bigger things that he had on his hands right now.

Ikutsuki Shuji held the record of Arisato Minako between his fingers and smoothed her picture with his thumb, there she was as pale as the failed experiments they've made, and her eyes as red as the blood they drained from the bodies of the vessels they attempted to create. It was good to know that she was using her pretty head. Oh how delighted he was when he had found her. She didn't swallow every word he said about the Dark Hour, she was apprehensive. She was brilliant, _so _brilliant—simply beyond his expectations, but it was unfortunate that she had been born somewhere he could easily reach.

He favored Mitsuru for the influence he could attain through her. She brought the power of the Kirijo group closer to him, but he _knew_ what he wanted. Something _more,_ something _greater_ than what mankind could ever be able to comprehend—the power of Persona.

"Oh Minako," Ikutsuki chuckled with mirth. He would've loved it if she used those same bloody eyes to glare at him with scorn. "_You _marked its existence!"

He was filled with unbelievable bliss as the screen displayed one of the dormitory's earlier footage. One of the many during the night of a full moon, and the first with such a gargantuan Shadow. The sound of blades and the sight of a Persona's silent scream—monstrosities that have given him the same feel of adrenaline rush even after a decade of living.

His ambition was steadily nearing his grasp, almost coming into fruition.

The power he wanted—

Arisato Minako was the key to obtaining it.

* * *

**8/16 – Su**

**Evening**

**Naganaki Shrine**

Honestly, he was disappointed when Minako said no.

It was going to be Junpei's first time attending the Shrine Festival. He was _really_ looking forward to it, because this year he didn't have to spend it either alone—_or _with a bunch of dudes. He didn't let that ruin his whole day though. He had third and fourth thoughts about asking Yukari, and he laughed at how stupid he was, wondering why he just didn't ask Fuuka.

"_What?"_ Yukari instantly spat out in reply after the question slipped out of his mouth. _"And what makes you think that I would want to go with _you_?" _She jabbed at him with such viciousness that it made him want to flee and cry.

She accepted his invitation anyhow. He waited outside the dormitory until she was ready, and grew nervous after every second that ticked. The amount of time they took to get to the shrine seemed like an eternity. He noticed a few guys giving them funny looks on the way, and he openly glared at them, just to make her feel a little bit better. He guessed that she didn't like that, because she started to drag him halfway there. When they arrived, he thought that eternity wasn't so bad, and having to spend it with Yukari wasn't as horrible as it initially sounded.

He'd just experienced a miracle, one that he _still _couldn't believe.

"What are you looking at?" She asked him with a pretty scowl, it complemented the sloppy smile he had.

"Nothing!" Junpei replied, now able to take a good look and admire the sight of the archer in a yukata. "I just...uhm, didn't expect you'd..." He laughed uneasily and just hoped he didn't look dumb enough for her to start chewing his head off.

"I didn't wear it for you." Yukari cleared up, crossing her arms.

"I know. It's cool," The Magician drew one of his trademark smiles and raised both of his hands to give the Lovers a pair of thumbs-up. "You look beautiful, by the way." He watched her cheeks unexpectedly flame up when he said it, and he wasn't so sure if she was flustered out of irritation, or because she plainly didn't want to admit that she appreciated his praise.

He decided that it was the second one.

"Hm? I think I saw Akihiko-senpai." Yukari had relieved herself of the blushing spell shortly and yanked on the other's arm.

"Oh wait." She squinted and shifted to the side to get a better look from where she was firmly rooted.

"No?" She shrugged. "My mistake, I guess."

How could an archer be visually mistaken? It was unheard of! Junpei followed the previous direction of her gaze. He quickly glanced to make sure that Yukari was still there before looking for said senior with his own pair of not-as-keen eyes. When someone said they've seen Akihiko, they either really saw him, or some old man wearing a red vest, and it was obviously _always _the first one.

Heh, the senior went to pickup girls without him, eh?

"_Hey Stupei, what are you looking at?"_

Indeed, it was Akihiko that Junpei saw yards away, except that it wasn't some unfamiliar chick tagging along. It was his best friend in the pugilist's tow instead. So _that's_ how it was. Junpei nodded to himself, knowing.

"_Are you checking someone out?" _Yukari was wearing the frown he almost started to miss, and he shook his head to reassure her that he was behaving.

"Hey, Yuka-tan? Let's try that one over there!" He pointed to a booth with fish drawn over it and gave Yukari a grin she couldn't have possibly said no to. When she didn't voice out any protest, he took it as her own form of permission and led her away. He planned to make it a night that she wouldn't ever regret going to with him.

Was she letting him? Probably.

Honestly, he couldn't be any more grateful that Minako said no.

* * *

"There's a lot of people for this year, too." Minako watched his silver brows knit a bit closer together, and he turned to her with an expression less tense than the one he wore before they arrived.

"Don't get separated, okay?" She nodded obediently, and his lips curved up slightly, in an almost unnoticeable fashion.

She had started the day without a solid reason to attend the festival. She had even gathered the guts to be able to reject Junpei's invitation. That was _before_ she had received Akihiko's call. His voice sounded different, almost new to her ears. It was how he sounded after Shirakawa boulevard—like he wanted to say something without knowing the exact words. That and the beady stare that Bunny-chan gave her made her decide that it was about time they got over it. That _she _got over it, like how Junpei crossed over the line that threatened to separate them.

"Should I hold your hand so you won't get lost, senpai?" She meant it as a joke, but her voice didn't play along and it came out sounding different. She wanted him to relax, and she wanted him to see that she did her best to relax, too.

But...

They were just awkward to look at.

"Don't be a kid," Akihiko shallowly laughed before he watched her flush a little in embarrassment and avoided having to look at him again. 'Was she being serious...?' He suddenly thought, anxious at the possibility that his last move might've stretched the drift between them.

They walked further towards the shrine, and amidst the great flow of colors and the bright lights that decorated the place of worship, the strokes that made up the peach and cream colored magnolias of Arisato's modest yukata stood out from the rest. She took the jolly displays of the night merrily, but he had all of his focus on her hand. The air was hot and cold at the same time, drowning out the world and growing heavy with each passing second.

_Doki, doki._

"Do you want some takoyaki, senpai?" She asked him, looking back at him after eyeing the booth from where the aroma wafted from. He nodded from the way her eyes gleamed in adoration at the sight of the newly-cooked dumplings.

Before inviting her, he was sure that he wanted her to smile tonight. He was sure that he was sure he wanted to _see_ her smile tonight. Not because of a joke Iori told her. Not because of a funny story Yukari shared with her, nor a trick that Koromaru showed her. If she was going to smile tonight_..._

_Doki, doki._

"We can share one." He suggested, watching her eyes widen slightly. He figured that he shouldn't need help from Iori, and pushed himself to move forward. She took a moment to think about it thoroughly, as if bothered that her huge appetite would get in the way.

The heavy weight on his shoulders was lifted when he managed to call her out, and was completely thrown away when her attention wasn't fixed on the kids gathered around the Kingyo-sukui nor the takoyaki stand anymore but on him instead. He stepped one step closer to her, and he thought that his hand was probably cold, but he had already went and cut the unintentional distance between them. When he finally had her hand in his, he hoped that she didn't mind at all.

"I thought you said 'no'?" Minako stared in question and caught the hint of uneasiness in his smile. He wasn't the only one.

"If you hold mine, you might let go, and we'll get separated." Akihiko brought their clasped hands higher for her to see as he explained, his smile equipped with less hesitation and with more certainty. "But if I hold yours, even if you let go, you wouldn't have to worry about me getting lost."

They were words that he felt he should've said a month ago.

They were words she wouldn't have believed a month ago.

"Senpai—" Minako parted her lips to officially apologize. For getting him involved, for making him worry, for making him see a part of her he wasn't yet ready to see, but when she caught glimpse of his eyes, she couldn't bear to do it. His eyes were of one who was ready to listen, but wouldn't turn and go back anymore. It made her want to cry and laugh at the same time. "You're weird."

"Look who's talking." He threw back at her with a casual smile, and soon she was smiling herself, too. He held her hand firmly, letting her know that he wasn't planning on making it easy for her to let him go.

"Let's just enjoy the festival, okay?" He said to her, and was the one who started to lead her towards the food stall of her affection.

Minako nodded, trailing behind the senior with their hands still linked together. It was the third time she'd stared long and hard at his back, this time with less guilt. This time, she didn't sense his anger and helplessness at having their feelings toyed with.

His hand wasn't cold anymore.

* * *

**End of chapter.**

Again, whether you'll be spending it with your 'other half' or with friends and family, **HAPPY VALENTINE'S**! Next update will be at the end of March. I guess. I have to prepare and finish my finals first, haha.

Was it fluffy enough? If you enjoyed this one, review and tell me what you think! If you want to elaborate (and reeeally elaborate on anything or any issue Persona-related at all), anyone's welcome to send a pm. I'd like it if you ask questions, rant, or comment. :)

**By the way** do you guys want shorter (but more) chapters, or longer (but fewer) chapters?


	8. Track 7: Day by Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the series, nor any of the characters mentioned in this story. All rights belong to Atlus.

**To Michi Heru: **I just realized that _you're _Michi too! _*laughs* _Did your midterms go well? Thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D

**To Fanfic Reader: **Ah, I'm sorry this took way longer to be posted up! There's going to be more FeMC/Shinjiro for sure (I_*cough*_likethemmoretoo_*cough*_), so stick around, okay? Thanks for the review (Ikutsuki **IS** an evil _—toot!—_)!

**To Elica san: **Ah, you're the first one to point out! Hahaha I was hoping that could go unnoticed. _*laughs* _ANYWAY! Thank you for the extra effort and for the review! Enjoy the chapter! :D

**Beta'd** by **TsukizuNya **(formerly **KizunaOtakuArashi**).

* * *

**I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my well-loved friend, who is now in a better place.**

* * *

What is it about that person next to you, did he make you cry?

Dear, can you even see me? Did you forget completely?

I'm worried, I feel anxious because I can't get close nor talk to you

I spend long nights by myself, erasing my thoughts a thousand times

* * *

**Loading...**

**Track 7**

* * *

**8/18 – Tu**

**Evening**

**Club Escapade**

With one last huff, she reached the end of the first staircase, the one she had almost tripped and fell from because of haste just a couple of minutes earlier. She took one last step and reached the edge of the dance floor. She would not have minded the lights that flashed too suddenly, and the colors that helped bring about a veil of mystery for someone looking for a fling. Truly, she was a sight that didn't belong to the scape that was quickly making way for more than sensuality. She was the only one who had her brows knit and lips formed in a troubled curve.

Minako decided to take a moment to calm herself and checked her phone. It clearly said Tuesday, and Mutatsu-san didn't come to drink on Tuesdays as far as she knew. She could only sigh instead of frown at her own mistake. _Now_ she understood why the manager sent her a look earlier, the one that said he didn't quite expect her to come tonight. Seriously, the manager could've told her that she was a few _days _too early! And with that, she stopped her thoughts and merely settled for another sigh. There was no getting back used time, after all.

"Hello," A warm feminine voice distracted her, and Minako easily traced it to be the mysterious lady who always stood at the entrance of the club. "Would you like to get your fortune told?" To have lived, died, and brought back a year later placed a small sad smile on the field leader's face, but the woman was always so kind, maybe it wouldn't hurt to say yes, even if only once.

"You do not have to do anything in particular," The lady said, and Minako nodded with an obedient and welcoming smile. "Just relax, is that okay?" She would've praised the young girl for having listened instead of having assaulted her with looks painfully judgmental, but a cloud formed in her own eyes the moment she had peeked at what the future has in store for her client.

"Is something wrong?" Minako asked, wondering if she'd done something she shouldn't have, but the other female only shook her head in dismissal. The junior high school student couldn't stay long enough to hear the assessment meant for her because Junpei had sent her continuous messages regarding Aigis' fixation on her, and she dipped her head in a shallow bow of apology as she excused herself out of the club.

The only lady left sighed as she once again sunk back as if to merge with the shadows, she was more comfortable that way. Her gaze was downcast on her now cold palms. Perhaps she had read the little girl's signs wrong? The occurrence was rare, almost next to impossible, but...

"Perhaps it is also destined that she would not know?" She thought quietly to herself, humoring herself bitterly about coincidence.

After all, how could there be no glimpse at all of a future for someone so young?

* * *

**Evening**

**Port Island Station Outskirts**

"Michi?" Minako carefully scanned around the area, the place that had served to be her refuge.

The house she had worked hard to make for the little furry still stood in the corner as a quiet, solitary figure. She approached it, only to find it empty. Probably had been for a couple of weeks now, because it had already collected dust once she had bent over to inspect closer. The same went for the pet dish she had bought, too.

She had been away for only a month, but it felt longer, like she had been away for more than a year. A year wherein the days stretched out for too long, and the nights, too short. She had stayed in one place longer than she should have, and now she realized that the rest of the world had gone and moved on without her. All because she had been too miserable, a complete disgrace, for what happened in Shirakawa. How could she have faced Shinjiro with a smile when she had gone and cried, and thus, broke her promise? How could she have looked at him straight in the eye, when it was him that she had seen instead of Akihiko, on that night of the full moon? The shame had been so raw, she almost didn't want to keep waking up.

"Senpai...?" She called out to the shadows, but none of them were his. "Shinjiro-senpai?" It was foolish to think that he was there, merely hiding.

She was not his responsibility. He had no reason to come just as Michi had no reason to stay, and she knew that. Shinjiro had said it to her last time—she had no right to feel disappointed. Clearly it was her fault, the times he had previously spent with her had all gotten into her head.

Nonetheless, before her eyes could completely become hazy with remembering things of the past, she pinched her cheeks and pulled them upwards for her lips to form a bright, childish smile. "I'm back." One day, Shinjiro and Michi would surely come.

All she had to do was wait.

* * *

**8/22 – Sa**

**Daytime**

**Naganaki Shrine**

"_Heh, who would've thought we'd have Koromaru huh?" Said SEES member raised his head with the mention of his name, only to return to resting after finding out it was only Junpei and his musings. "Hey, it's a funny coincidence, you know? I mean, who can predict the future right? I can't really imagine you being into the psychic stuff."_

_Minako had stopped paying attention to the idealistic portrayal of love in the television, and moved towards the edge of the couch. It seemed like a gesture to be comfortable, but not many knew that things were not so literal when it came to her. Did Junpei really have to joke about the future _now? _She returned his serious-turned expression with a more mediocre one. He had that face, the one that you just _knew _you could never take seriously. She was going to tell him to cut it out when Junpei had beat her to speaking first._

"_You're not going to joke that you're from the future or anything next, are you?"_

_Once the words were out, she could not gather herself to paint a smile. Junpei had gone and poured his attention to the TV in front of him, losing the opportunity to see the quick narrowing of Minako's eyes—the closest to a glare he would ever get from her. "That woulda been spooky, and it ain't even October yet!"_

Minako quietly sighed. She thought of getting some mochi for Junpei before she went back to the dormitory. She was sure that Aigis was there when she left, but the image of the jokester being all alone in the dorm kept on poking for her attention. She just hoped that he had resorted to playing online games to ease his boredom. She then saw movement from her periphery, and in the next second, she felt a hand pressed against her forehead. Her eyes immediately shot up at Theo, whose honeyed eyes were all but readable. She didn't remember them ever being so foggy.

"I'm okay." She smiled at him as he withdrew his hand.

She got the feeling that he didn't quite believe her, but still she tried. Out of her old life's reflex, she raised a hand to pinch his cheek, only to remember that this Theo wasn't really the 'old' Theo, and consequently, she stopped. She didn't want to make this Theo feel troubled nor uneasy. For a second, she looked down at her hand, and thought about the things she used to do, but now couldn't. Shouldn't.

"Are you sad?" Little Maiko asked after setting her backpack not so far from where they were. "Do you need a hug? I can give you a hug."

Minako lightly laughed at that. "But I'm not sad."

Maiko seemed to take that into consideration, before shaking her head. "You don't have to be sad for a hug." She told the older girl, putting up one of her own smiles as she proceeded to give Minako a warm embrace. She distanced only to look up at the much taller Theo, as if she expected him to do the same.

"Mom said that hugs make everything better." The avatar of power stood in silence, like a statue sculpted from of the renaissance, with nothing more than an expression of accommodation meant originally for Minako. Maiko only stared at him with her bigger, brown eyes, not grasping the idea that he may not be feeling comfortable at all with her suggestion. She blinked and turned to face her adopted older sister. "Are you not friends?"

"We are." Minako glanced at the white man. She wasn't so sure how effective her explanation would be, but she thought that if she gave it her best, Maiko would surely understand. She was Arisato Minako's 'sister' after all.

"May I?" Before she could open her mouth to end the silence, Theo stepped forward. He lowered himself to one knee and dipped his head in a shallow bow. Minako saw how Maiko's eyes glistened at the display. Surely for a little girl like her, seeing Theo was a dream come true, appearing like a prince who was asking for the princess' hand for a dance. The child looked at him and back at her, but still she did not budge.

_Thou art I... And I am thou..._

"Hey, it's okay." Minako pinched Maiko's baby cheek lightly, a small laugh escaping her lips. She could just remember her own childhood. "We're all friends." Soon she had both Maiko and even Theo in one mighty group hug, perhaps out of pure impulse, and they didn't do anything as close to complaining. She still didn't know how to leave a mark in their hearts, a mark that was hopefully something that could stay long enough to last one a lifetime. She didn't know how to determine if she already did. At one point, she had been too afraid to, because she would come and go as quickly as a flower's petals, but then she decided that the worrying she did was enough.

She hoped the time she spent with them was more than enough.

* * *

**8/27 – Th**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"What's with you?" Akihiko finally asked, slightly disturbed by the intensity of the other male's grin. He just knew he should have forced himself to shut his mouth instead of starting up a conversation, but the realization came later than the moment the words escaped his mouth. "Just yesterday you looked like someone who was left alone in the desert."

"Oh, of course _you_ would know senpai." Junpei replied, yesterday's boredom blues completely forgotten. He scooted—not too closely—but closer to the senior, still equipped with his mega-watt grin. He lowered himself to whisper.

"I've had a taste of heaven today~"

To hear it from the stubbled swordsman, it just sounded... wrong.

"What?"

The boxer's expression scrunched up somewhat in confusion, and he followed Junpei's gaze to see Koromaru 'shaking paws' with Arisato. He ripped his gaze away in time to catch a glimpse of Takeba raising her head to shoot them a look, telling them to converse somewhere quiet, somewhere she wasn't currently reading at. At this, Junpei responded with a playful wink, and the archer expectedly grimaced in disgust and rolled her eyes with a displeased groan.

Akihiko wondered if Junpei just had the tendency to intentionally look for trouble.

"Wait! I think I still got one." Junpei dug his hand in one of his pockets, taking out something wrapped in peach-colored paper. Before Akihiko could ask, he had already gone and placed it in the boxer's hand. "I was going to save it for later, but, man, wouldn't want you missing out on some good stuff."

"It's really good, Minako made it." The junior said to him as if it was what could possibly change the world. As if Junpei expected something she made meant such a big difference in Akihiko's world. To fool around and tease him seemed to be only few of Junpei's hobbies, and honestly Akihiko was tired. At least, he thought that he was—a little bit, maybe? But he wasn't. No. Not really. He shouldn't be letting a kouhai get too friendly with him, it was bound to get in the way of their Dark Hour business soon, maybe even in the way of more personal issues in the near future, but lately Akihiko had been more welcoming.

"Thanks." He muttered quietly, taking Junpei by a bit of surprise. He couldn't deny the 'normality' that the stubbled teen brought in their troubled lives. Iori was a jolly nuisance, a welcome distraction. He thought that this, _this _kept them alive—could _still _keep them alive. If they had been able to take life a little less seriously back then, would things turn out differently?

* * *

**Evening**

**Naganaki Shrine**

Koromaru let out a long, heartfelt howl.

She was not Aigis to know the little pieces, every word that that howl meant for Koromaru, but she understood it in its entirety. She could comprehend, and in a way, she knew how he felt. She reached out to pat him, and he squinted his eyes at the welcomed gesture. "I'm sure he heard you." She said, and the wise dog softly barked in agreement.

"What a good boy." Minako smiled, not brightly, but deeply. Did he feel hopeless when he first woke up in the Dark Hour? Did he spend the first night laying his existence on the line, protecting a coffin that glowed, hoping that within it was his peacefully sleeping master?

Koromaru was kind and strong, yet he was gentle—he was admirable indeed. The priest who had taken care of him must have been, too, and it was most unfortunate that she was not able to meet him even with her new life. Perhaps she could've saved the priest if she had arrived sooner, if only she happened to wake up and discover her potential much earlier. Perhaps then, Koromaru would've continued to live a contented life, together with the person he loved and adored the most. Dogs could not cry the kind of cry that required tears, but surely, they must have had a way of their own, and maybe Koromaru had already done just that, half a year ago.

Did Koromaru think of the priest's passing away as a 'loss'? Did Koromaru cry for a space in his heart that could never be filled again? The thought brought pain to her chest, and she discovered another one of the many ways to feel hurt.

Koromaru stared at her, and she realized that it was not that the world blurred—but because tears started to form in her eyes.

"Ah, it's okay." She willed the water beads away and flashed a smile at her animal friend. "I'm okay." Koromaru put one of his paws on top of her hand and nudged her, as if to comfort her, in his own way.

"Arf." Koromaru's tongue stuck out, and to her, he looked like he was wearing the goofiest grin she had ever seen The world could easily forget the priest, but he would continue to live in Koromaru's heart. In there, a scar was left, and it was a scar that the shiba inu was more than willing to bear. A mark that said that he had been given love, and was going to give love in return.

It dawned on Minako that to continue to devote yourself and stay loyal to someone who could not stay, was the hardest. You would not be able to hear words of gratitude—you would not hear anything from your most beloved at all. What would become the use of a person being able to reach the top of the world, if he had no one to share the happiness with? To continue loving someone who could not ever come back again, even if you screamed at the top of your fragile lungs in hopes that your voice could reach the depths of hell and the height of the heavens, was the kind that hurt the most.

It was one of the most tragic, yet it was one of the most beautiful kinds of love.

* * *

**8/29 – Fr**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"Arisato-senpai." Ken paused to greet as she emerged out of the supposedly unoccupied room.

"Amada-kun." She blinked at him with her unusual-colored irises. He wondered if they happened to be tinted with contact lenses as she nodded a 'good evening' and let the door behind her noiselessly close. Out of all his seniors, he saw her the least, and from what he had heard so far from her fellow juniors, it was because Arisato-senpai went outdoors frequently. Sometimes he would catch her present at night in the lounge, playing with Koromaru and Aigis would be there with them. If luck was on his side for that night, that is. Otherwise, he would not even catch a glimpse of her at all.

"Iori-senpai was looking for you." Ken relayed to her simply, taking out the incessant details of the man's previous ramblings.

"Ohhh, so it _was _him that I heard." Arisato-senpai gave him a small smile. "Have you eaten?" He could remember her doing the same, maybe a month ago, when she took it upon herself to give him a tour of the dormitory. He remembered seeing Sanada-senpai's dim expression then, and he wondered if they've gotten in a fight, by any chance.

"No," He replied. "Not yet." Was she really being nice to him? Or was it only because she was his 'senpai'?

"Ah? Then, wanna go out for dinner?" Ken shook his head and declined, feeling a sudden shyness creep up on him. Quickly and impulsively, he excused himself and escaped to his own room, leaving the squad leader the lone figure standing at the hall.

* * *

**Dark Hour**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

It was another night of sleeplessness and a void-filled sky without stars. There was nothing to be heard to possibly serve as a reminder that wherever she was, it was still her beloved dormitory. She reached out to her side only to grasp at nothing. She looked around the poorly-lit room, up to the far corners that her vision could take her, but still she did not find the stuffed rabbit Akihiko had given her. It instantly crossed her mind that she had unintentionally left her inanimate companion in Shinji's old room. She curled up in a ball, because now they were both separated and alone.

"Hello." Pharos greeted her from underneath the covers, his eyes almost glowed in the darkness. When she did not budge, he tilted his head to the side. He touched the hands she was using to cover her face with, like she preferred to melt in the shadows for just one night.

"What's wrong?" He asked when she still did not respond. "Minako?" The name rolled out of his lips as easy as it was for him to see her—only her. He just watched her lower her barriers and pull the sheets up to cover both of them, plunging them both into further darkness. This was the world he lived in, but she didn't want to see how empty this version of the world was tonight. Tonight, he could easily give it up for her, and he wouldn't have minded at all.

"Oh," He noticed the emptiness that occupied the space between them. "Where is the thing, the one always in your arms?" The last string of words, he did not quite like, but he had to ask.

"She's not here." Minako softly spoke. He knew the difference in her tone, but he did not understand why it had been less sure. Her breathing was deep and prolonged—he had never seen her that way before.

'Then where?' was Pharos' further question, she could see it in his eyes. She smiled at his naivety, and she envied how he did not fear the dark.

Once upon a time, she had been like him, too. Naive and fearless. She simply couldn't say that she hadn't changed. She did, but who could tell if it had been for the better? She tried to be idealistic the first time and she laughed at how that time just didn't work out. This time she was going to be a realist and she was going to expect that she was not like Featherman. She was not a superhero, she was not invincible. Some things really wouldn't go as planned, she was going to fail no matter what and how she would do it, and she was going to cry because it would surely hurt her a lot.

"It's okay," Their foreheads met when Pharos came closer, her insecurities slightly forgotten. He smiled the smile she knew she would soon see more of. "I'm here." He whispered, and if she had closed her eyes, she would've seen Ryoji instead of the little boy in the striped pajamas.

The next day, she woke up to the feeling of warmth, and she found Rabbit-chan rightfully in her arms.

* * *

**9/1 – Tu**

**Evening**

**Wakatsu Restaurant, Iwatodai Strip Mall**

"Call me Minako."

Ken's eyes shot up immediately, failing to mask the bewilderment that stained his reserved composition. "E-excuse me?" He blurted, identifying the comfortable nonchalance that danced in her eyes, in return. How could someone give off such an enthusiastic aura, yet remain so relax? Surely, Arisato-senpai and Iori-senpai would have made a formidable duo.

"You can call me Minako," Her smile was that of an outgoing puppy, it was such a stark contrast with his own timidness. "Almost everyone does, so from now on, you can, too. And I'll call you Ken-kun." She concluded, as if it was a simple matter for someone six years younger to address his senior by her first name. She was bubbly to an almost frightening extent, but the sincerity was clearly there for him to see out in the open, and it made the uneasiness effortlessly build up in him.

"Oh, if it's okay with you, of course." She added shortly, and he mentally winced at himself for having worried someone. What kind of face was he wearing right now?

"It's fine—" Ken replied, his voice louder than it normally was. "I mean, I'm fine with it, Minako-san." Maybe she really was just nice, and she wasn't just doing it because she was a senpai. Her smile had become brighter all of a sudden, even her eyes had a smile of their own, or maybe it was just some trick of the light? Nonetheless, the merry curve of her lips proved to be contagious, and when he brought up a hand to wipe the wayward dab of ketchup on his cheek, he found one already attached to his own.

'Minako-san is very friendly,' He thought, and indeed he felt like he'd known her for years. He liked her, he thought that she was easy to get along with. 'Huh?' He could feel the tips of his ears heat up and he scrunched his brows together in an attempt to stop the flustered feeling jumping in his stomach.

_'Here's your milk, sir.'_

Minako chuckled at the weird expression smeared all over the still-growing spearman. "That's better." She referred to the need to be less formal with each other, but Ken seemed to be too preoccupied to actually hear her. And that was okay, Ken didn't have to know how much colder her hands had become—he didn't have to know about anything else just yet.

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Justice Arcana..._

* * *

**9/2 – We**

**After School**

**Hagakure Ramen, Iwatodai Strip Mall**

"You're a fucking pain in the ass." Shinjiro growled, the ferocity in his eyes made up for the fact that he would never _ever_ take out anything at Akihiko. He wouldn't have held himself and his clenched fist back if it had been anyone else that nagged and whined at him—and he was beginning to sacrifice his sanity for having to put up with the Gekkoukan champion's hardheadedness. The few costumers took quick glances over to where the little commotion was, but did nothing more out of the preference of keeping out of trouble. He would've smirked at how wise their decision had been, if not for the situation he was currently in.

"I'm not asking this time." Akihiko explained, his grey eyes a pair of burning ice to Shinjiro's freezing fire as he thrust the suitcase towards the latter. His lips were pursed in a firm line, and his features were tense—he looked like a stoic piece of art, and the senpai who pouted and worried for his now-kouhai just the other day almost seemed like a mere figment of Minako's imagination. "Amada Ken has joined our team."

With that single sentence, the coated man's mask of irritation faltered. "_Bullshit._" His obscenity never once bothered Akihiko, on the surface, at the least. Perhaps the boxer knew that vulgarity was just one of Shinji's outlets, and it wasn't at all at him that the sharp words pointed at.

"He volunteered." The tension was so heavy, it had become harder to breathe. Neither of them moved an inch, and they talked more through their eyes than they ever would with their mouths—a silent understanding of sorts between men who had known each other for so long.

Shinjiro's gaze was hardened by the glare he kept fixed on Akihiko. "Fine, I'm in." With an exasperated sigh he left his order of beef bowl forgotten at the counter and shoved his hands in his bigger pockets as he got up.

His gaze grazed with the silent one of Minako's, a reminder that she was still there and that her presence had been acknowledged eons ago. The least he expected of her was to look away. She didn't, even if he looked at her with eyes different than he did with his childhood friend. Their reunion could have been much better, but even then, they probably still wouldn't have exchanged greetings meant for friends. She knew more than his name, while he didn't even know hers. If they were mere acquaintances or friends, he surely didn't know. Neither of them were sure of where they stood.

"What the hell's with you dragging more girls into this?" He'd been meaning to ask since he had realized that it was her that kept coming back in the alley, he could not imagine a small girl like her stabbing a blade through anything. Until now, he never did. "First Mitsuru, now her," Shinjiro's brows knit together underneath his beanie as he frowned at Akihiko before he glanced at her.

Minako did not see scorn in his murky eyes, and she did not see anything that stemmed from contempt. It was brief, only for a second, and she was something familiar—hurt from having been let down. She had worn that same emotion in hers not too long ago, of someone who had been left behind without even a hint at an explanation, of someone who had found what he had been searching for but not finding the satisfaction with having done so. It had come and gone as quick as the moment Aigis would shoot down anything that harmed her without hesitation, but Minako did not understand.

She did not know.

"Despite being a girl, she's one of—" Just like how Akihiko did not know that he looked out for her during the day, while Shinjiro looked out for her during the night.

"That ain't my _point_, numbskull." Shinjiro just threw his eyes off to glare at the side, the times when he had told her to leave suddenly rushed back into his mind. She did not know how he waited for her to come to the alley, nor how Michi's mews clawed at his ears like cries for a girl who would not come. None of it was her fault, because she simply did not know, while he simply got what he had half heartedly wanted.

Akihiko only shrugged, the tension lifted and his mood better. "Anyhow, let's get you settled." He gave his leader a small smile for a job well done on their part, it was an act that was unusual and did not fail to go unnoticed for the other male.

It was how Minako's eyes lingered on Shinjiro himself that did.

* * *

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"You look so happy," Junpei almost went tumbling off the chair he had been pushing and pushing when his best friend popped out of nowhere and pressed a cold can of Cielo Mist against his vulnerable cheek. "Your door was open." She said, gesturing at the now-closed door. The rest of the words that came along with that already formed themselves in the boy's head as a valid explanation. They were close enough that even if she said nothing, he still would've gotten it.

She raised her own can of the carbonated drink, silencing his incoming questions before they could even come, and he accepted. "So, care to share?"

"Yukaa-san wouldn't like her little girl hanging around in the second floor," Junpei joked, but he had successfully managed to push the protective girl's buttons many times to know that it could have very well been a fact. The archer was both literally and figuratively a hawk that circled above Minako's head.

"You're trying to change the topic, aren't you?" Minako laughed as she threw one of his Sekirei cushions he had collected at him once she was comfortable, and he caught it easily with one of his swiftly trained hands, just as she expected. "And if Yukari's going to be my mom, you're gonna have to be my dad!" She followed up her assault with another, with the speed she used to hurl tiny beads infused with killer magic at Shadows, and the other junior emerged with a triumphant smirk when that also failed.

It was true when Yukari mentioned that Junpei looked utterly ridiculous. It was like he had found an amplifier to strengthen his grin and he even started to sleep less in class—he was awake during _Literature _class! Okay, Minako had to admit that he had started to daydream more often to compensate for not sleeping, but he behaved. _Junpei behaved. _Even Kenji noticed, because he had fearlessly approached the SEES field leader once upon a lunch break to ask if Junpei happened to be sick and if the noticeable change was a result of going off to fulfill all of his mortal dreams before it was too late.

It worried some, but Minako was happy that her best friend was happy.

"You _really _wanna know?" Junpei asked, and Minako fervently nodded as she sat cross-legged on top of his bed. He pretended to sigh, as if he had just been forced, even though he died of excitement because he had just been waiting for her to ask. He breathed a deep breath and dramatically turned to face her. "Wellll..." He flashed the grin that was second to none—not even to hers. "I think I just found my princess."

Minako's heart dropped for a split second.

_Chidori._

But where did they meet? How? _Where?_ "You finally asked Yukari out on a date?" She still tried and she hoped her intuition was wrong, she wanted it so badly to be wrong. She reminded herself that at that moment, she wore the mask of the girl who was there to share in her best friend's happiness, not the mask of the girl who had already seen him as he walked side by side with anguish.

Junpei was plain flabbergasted.

"_No_, it's not Yukari!" He shot back a little too quickly. "You know what? I won't even ask _why_ you keep bringing her up."

"Anyway, I met her at the station—she just really stood out," He started, blurting out the first thing that he could think of since he met her. "We talked. I told her stuff, and she smiled. At me—_me_! I'm sure you'll like her Minacchan. I feel that you would."

"Well, we got along fine, and _you _get along with me fine, so definitely—" She listened intently, and the memory of how broken he was going to be if he lost Chidori became clearer and clearer with every word that was born out of him until it was completely crystal. She could tell him that it was a bad idea, but one look into his eyes and she knew there was no way of snatching the blade out of his hands before he got himself cut too deeply.

"Ne, I just want you to be happy, no matter what."

"Yeah? Then what's with that face?" Junpei brushed a gentle fist against her cheek, his alternative to the girl's practice of pinching that he did exclusively to her, and chuckled like the carefree guy that he was.

"What, you don't think we'd stop being buddies now do ya?" He was nervous, she could tell even if he covered it up with his most blinding grin. At the same time she could _feel _that he had never felt that good about life before. "Silly. We're the fantastic duo! You and me, nothing's ever gonna change that!" The grin made way for a sincere laugh, and she wondered if what she was feeling now was what he felt when she first told him that she liked someone.

Her best friend was in love. "You know, I actually have a good feeling about this, Minako." And there was no way she was gonna let 'fate' screw him over too.

* * *

**9/4 – Fr**

**Evening**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

"_Shinjiro." He had told the girl with the damned red eyes and the little smile he used to not clearly see for himself because of the lack of reliable light."Aragaki Shinjiro." Thinking back, he still easily recognized her eyes—and they remained the way he remembered them to have been._

"_Shinjiro—" She mindlessly repeated, just like how she would talk to Michi without minding that she talked to something that could not answer her. "Shinjiro-_senpai_." He saw how her eyes softened, as if she had known his name for a long time and only needed the permission to say it, and how quickly she corrected herself, as if it was too big of a mistake. He then mumbled about using 'senpai' for old people._

Moving back in had gone much more smoothly than they have anticipated—yesterday had been his first night (again) in the Iwatodai dorm.

_In truth, he had stopped 'minding' her a long time ago. "Just Shinjiro." He said lowly, his own gaze softening at how they should have done this months ago._

Shinjiro didn't have much that he could call his 'belongings', he almost had nothing at all, and he grumbled about not 'needing shit' other than what was necessary the moment Akihiko looked like he was about to ask. They estimated that it would probably only take two to three days at most before all was cleared for him to settle, the reason was that the room needed to be cleaned. When they checked, to their surprise, the room almost didn't seem like the unoccupied room that they thought it was going to be.

_He wondered if being closer to her like this meant that she was going to open up to him more, even if just a little bit more. "Don't worry, I got your back." He spoke of nothing but the truth, because she wasn't some girl he served as a night chaperone to anymore._

"Urgh, _geez_, what's taking her so long?" Koromaru had taken a glance at the source of the complaint before looking back up at the more familiar face of Shinjiro, sticking his tongue out and laying on his side lazily, as if to say that it was just 'Junpei being Junpei', and dismissed everything else that was unimportant.

"She's having fun without you Junpei," Yukari had retorted with a pretty girl sneer. "It seems like even Minako needs some time away from you."

_He did not dare ask, because he did not want Akihiko finding more topics to discuss with him about against his will, and so he clamped his mouth shut. He wanted to, at the same time it was something that kept nagging on his mind for a while now, and it was like killing two birds with one stone. She seemed to have noticed—he should've known that she was naturally perceptive—because she told him that she was called Minako._

_Arisato Minako._

Ikutsuki gave Shinjiro a look that said the squabble was a normal occurrence and was absolutely not a matter to worry about, sending the latter to just scoff. Him? _Worried_? "It's just like when you and Akihiko argued back in the day..." The man mused with a nostalgic smile, he should've known that the two boys still did.

_The next time he caught glimpse of her that night was when she had appeared next to Amada, and it surprised Shinjiro when her hands reached up to the boy's cheeks as she girlishly chuckled. Amada retorted with a finger to poke at the girl's own cheek—he assumed to not have been hard, because 'Minako' only let out a higher-pitched giggle. He had never heard her laugh before, and it crossed his mind how unbelievable it was of him to forget that she _could_._

The old polished doors of the dorm creaked and opened, revealing the field leader and the champion boxer who finally arrived, still in their Gekkoukan uniforms. Shinjiro threw a long glance at the newcomers and looked away even before his eyes could meet that of Minako's or Akihiko's more jaded ones. Junpei had beamed, and the rest of the inhabitants watched as he made an attempt to tackle his best friend in foolish enthusiasm, only to be sidestepped due to Minako's reflexes and he crashed face-first against Akihiko's palm. Somehow, they already had the feeling that it would fail, and fail it did.

"Oops, sorry, didn't see you." The boxer said, obviously feeling no remorse for what he just did, as he mimicked Aigis' monotone voice and kept the expression on his face ridiculously straight.

Mitsuru placed her bookmark between the white pages beneath her fingertips before she finally set it aside. With one fluid raise of her gaze, she looked to the one said to be her 'favorite' among the juniors, for the most obvious reasons, and next at the comrade who returned to fight again alongside of them. She saw the subtle frown on Shinjiro's face. She had dealt with Shinjiro enough in the past, and with Akihiko long enough in the present to know.

Shinjiro was the only one whose gaze returned hers just as she expected him to. She considered him to almost be Akihiko's big brother, after all, and most big brothers normally noticed when their little brothers started to change.

* * *

**9/5 – Sa**

**Dark Hour**

**Paulownia Mall**

"Hurry back," She whispered to Aigis who was loyal to her to a fault, not with the mask of the girl who had to be protected, but with the that of the leader who had to be followed. "Go to the rooftop, seize any threats_. _But under all circumstances, do _not_ shoot." She used to pray that the night when she had to give her first order would never come.

"Now _go_." Without a second thought, the blonde vanguard took off, leaving Minako to hope that the night she gave Aigis her first order was also the night of her last.

* * *

**Dark Hour**

**Iwatodai Dormitory**

Everything else that happened after they came back to the dormitory had been a flash. True enough, it was the right decision to have deployed Aigis ahead of time, if the goal was to minimize the threat, but it wasn't the right decision to have been made in front of Junpei, who was forced to watch as the people he trusted reduced Chidori to a painfully helpless state. He screamed in anger and he thrashed without a momentary care whether he hit Akihiko where it hurt when she looked like she was close to crying. It was an unbelievable display from Junpei, and it took the less hesitant Shinjiro's strength to keep him from going near Aigis and Mitsuru who kept Chidori restrained when he almost escaped from Akihiko's grip,.

"Iori, you must calm down!" Mitsuru barked, but he refused to listen.

"You're _hurting _her!" He yelled, but after moments more, Chidori was brought away, and his zeal soon died out.

"Junpei—" Minako reached out to him only for her hand to be slapped away. Akihiko sprung to his feet, but Shinjiro had immediately stopped him, knowing that it was a bigger matter in which they had no part to play in.

"I... Chidori..."

"Minako," Junpei's hand felt much, much colder. "Why?" His eyes almost looked dead in disbelief, as if he just found out that sky had already fallen and he was the last one to know that what he had been staring up at was merely some blue sheet to cover the emptiness. _"Why..?" _He was confused and hurt, and he could think of nothing else but the thought of Chidori and of the memory of their first meeting.

Minako hated it, how they were helpless with the situation, and it must have showed. Because Junpei tried to smile, but he was tired, so tired that he couldn't bring himself to move. She had politely declined the help that the boys offered, because they were dealing with Junpei—her buddy—and he was her responsibility. Shinjiro understood, and she was thankful that they let her and Yukari take care of their fellow junior. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much he hurt inside, and there was absolutely nothing else that she could possibly do for him but wrap him in a secure embrace, as someone who was going to back him up for as long as she breathed.

"Junpei..." She found herself back in Junpei's room, but this time Junpei didn't make any jokes about Yukari, Minako didn't call him her dad, and they both couldn't put a smile on their faces even if they used permanent markers. How come? She had been nothing but careful with keeping her best friend's heart in a good condition. Yukari, too, was silent. She didn't say anything. Nothing at all—she couldn't even try to be mad, because she wouldn't find anyone to blame if she did.

Not with Junpei like this. And the worst part of it all, Minako knew very well that this was only the beginning.

* * *

**End of chapter.**

I'm sorry that this update turned out late. So many things happened, and I had to learn a lesson the hard way. The people you have now in your life aren't going to stay with you forever, so love them. Love them even if they sometimes annoy you and hurt you—love them _because_ you love them. **It's going to hurt too much when you realize that it's just too late when you want to let them know how much you love and appreciate them.**

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter—leave a review! Enjoy your vacation guys, and do your best! :)


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